Lawyer and former PN MP Franco Debono has hinted that he may throw his hat into the ring for the post of Nationalist Party leader, after Bernard Grech announced his resignation.

Grech announced his resignation in an address on party media on Tuesday at noon, saying that this would be the “best solution” for the party “to take the next step, continue growing, and continue strengthening towards an alternative government.”

Grech will remain party leader until his successor is appointed, and said that he would be calling an Executive meeting on Wednesday for the process to begin.

On Facebook, Debono wrote that the first and most important thing is that “appreciation is shown to Bernard Grech” after his resignation.

“Then other things will come in their due time.  Thank you for your messages.  I am listening to you and understanding you,” he wrote.

In a second post some minutes later, he thanked everyone for their messages and said he would answer everyone after he finishes his work in court.

“Thank you for your faith and support.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I always put the country’s interest first and foremost – and you know this,” he wrote.

In a third post, Debono simply shared a message he had received telling him to "go for it" and that it's "now or never."

Franco Debono had already been considering throwing his hat into the ring to be the PN’s leader back in 2019, but ultimately opted against it.

Debono could be deemed a somewhat divisive figure within the party’s membership base: he had famously brought down the last PN administration in 2012 by voting against the government, but since then more and more supporters have warmed to the lawyer.

In January 2024 there was speculation that Debono could be one of the PN’s candidates for the European Parliament election, and Grech had said back then that Debono was a member of the party and already contributing to it.

“But the idea that he should return to the party, as though he had been expelled, is incorrect,” Grech had said. “Franco Debono is a member of the party, Franco Debono is a party councillor, and Franco Debono is already contributing to the party. This is not an issue,” he had added.