Backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando yesterday said he had been asked to contest the 2013 general election on the 10th district, a Nationalist stronghold.
Writing on his Facebook wall, the controversial MP said he had been asked by a “high ranking member of the PN administration” to stand on the district, which comprises Sliema and St Julian’s.
On the eve of the final vote on the divorce Bill he steered, the Nationalist backbencher said he was still undecided whether to contest the next general election.
“I posted the message to gauge people’s reactions and so far it has been positive. People have already offered to help,” Dr Pullicino Orlando told The Sunday Times.
The 47-year-old dentist has had a number of clashes with his own party, especially after launching a Private Member’s Bill on divorce last summer without consulting anyone in the PN.
But despite being ostracised by some members of the party, Dr Pullicino Orlando said yesterday he still felt very comfortable in the PN.
“People say a lot of things. All I can say is that I’ve been a PN activist longer than most of my fellow MPs in Parliament. Yes, I still feel very much part of the party,” he said.
Asked whether he felt it would be wise to contest the 10th district, often considered as overrepresented by PN heavyweights, Dr Pullicino Orlando said it was worth noting that the ninth and 10th districts had voted in favour of divorce legislation.
Dr Pullicino Orlando was elected from two districts in the 2008 election, with a whopping 5,131 first-count votes. But he soon fell out of favour with many party faithful over land he leased out in Mistra which was due to be turned into a nightclub.
However, after a series of clashes with the party during this legislature the backbencher is now being seen in a more positive light. Dr Pullicino Orlando said an estimated 30 per cent of Nationalists had voted Yes in the May referendum.
When contacted, PN information secretary Frank Psaila said the choice of candidates and the districts they would contest was an internal party matter that must be approved by the party executive council.
“At this stage, the party has not taken any decision regarding who will be a candidate and which districts will be contested.
“Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has been an asset to the PN parliamentary group throughout his years of service in Parliament.
“While the PN executive committee will not decide on the candidates till a few months before the next election, I am sure that if he wishes to again contest on behalf of the PN, he will be approved by the executive committee,” he said.