Matthew Xuereb
PN new general secretary to be chosen tonight
The Nationalist Party's executive committee will meet this evening to choose the party's new general secretary to replace the Joe Saliba who has occupied the post since 1999.
Charlò Bonnici, a new MP and a human resources manager, 41, and 38-year-old Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier, a lawyer by profession, will be running for the post. The former is considered by many to be the favourite.
The party's executive, composed of 62 members, will be meeting at the new PN headquarters at 6 p.m. with the result expected around 8 p.m.
Voting will also take place for other posts within the party. Karol Aquilina, Malcolm Mifsud and Marthese Portelli will be running for the post of president of the executive committee at present occupied by Jean Pierre Farrugia; Pierre Portelli is the only candidate for the post of president of the administrative council now occupied by Paula Mifsud Bonnici; Peter Darmanin and John Bonello are also the only candidates hoping to be confirmed party treasurer and international secretary respectively.
Nationalist Party assistant information secretary Jean Pierre Debono, who had been mentioned as a possible contender for the general secretary job, is the only candidate running for the post of assistant general secretary.
While Mr Bonnici has openly stated that if elected he will not relinquish his seat in Parliament, Dr Borg Olivier has expressed his intention to resign as mayor if elected general secretary.
When Prime Minister Law-rence Gonzi was the party's general secretary, he was also an MP before he was replaced by Mr Saliba who leaves the PN's top administrative job after nine years, two general election victories, a successful EU referendum campaign, a change of party leader, and a state-of-the-art party headquarters he conceived six years ago.
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A. Camilleri
Jun 27th 2008, 17:10
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Joe Saliba for a great job. Well done, and hearty thanks.
As for the newcomer, be it either Paul of Ciarlo, I wish them all the encouragement for a successful term of office. Good luck.
Maria Dolores Fenech
Jun 27th 2008, 12:57
It's a pity that the election is not aired on Xarabank tonight. WE could have seen how the PN works from the inside, the manipulations..........
jane deguara
Jun 27th 2008, 11:27
good luck to Karol Aquilina... from jane and simon
T. Zammit
Jun 27th 2008, 11:03
It could very well be that both PN and MLP will have a General Secretary hailing from Valletta. Paul Borg Olivier and Alfred Grixti are both potential winners in their respective races, albeit one is a Pawlist and the other a Dumnikan!