Beppe Fenech Adami is the only contender to confirm that he will be part of the deputy leadership contest pointing out in comments to The Malta Independent online that he will contest the role of Deputy Leader for Party Affairs.

Mario de Marco, also a favourite for one of the posts, is still unsure.

Dr Fenech Adami is an MP and he confirmed that unlike the case in the PL, this role will not be exclusive to individuals outside the PN parliamentary group.

Giving his reaction to Dr Busuttil’s decision of having two deputy leaders, Dr Fenech Adami believes this is positive and should lead to the party being managed in a better way because there would be “more hands on deck” to lead the party to winning back the majority.

Asked whether he agrees with the possibility of introducing the post of CEO, Dr Fenech Adami said the party should explore all possibilities. It is an evolving party that must be relevant to times. 

Dr de Marco is still considering all options and has yet to make up his mind on whether to contest for one of the two posts of deputy leader that the Nationalist Party will be creating as of Sunday.

On Thursday, the PN announced that a proposal made by new leader Simon Busuttil – for the party to have two deputy leaders, one for party affairs and the other for parliamentary affairs - will be put for approval at a general council meeting on Sunday.

Dr de Marco pulled out of the race for party leader after obtaining 38% of the votes, leaving Simon Busuttil as the sole contender for the leadership position.

He subsequently announced – as did the other two contenders for the leadership, Raymond Bugeja and Francis Zammit Dimech – that he is not interested in the post of deputy leader.

But following the changes that will be made to the party leadership set-up, Dr de Marco seems to have taken a step back.

Contacted by The Malta Independent online, he did not rule out the possibility of contesting for any of the two posts, saying that he is keeping his options open.

His initial feeling is however that he will not contest. But Dr de Marco had more or less adopted the same approach for the leadership race, keeping his options open. He only announced his nomination four hours before the call for applications closed and submitted it half an hour before time.