Nationalist Party councillors yesterday approved a proposal by new leader Simon Busuttil for the party to have two deputy leaders instead of one.

The party is back in business

Councillors gathered at an extraordinary general council unanimously approved the statutory changes that will create the posts of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs and deputy leader for party affairs.

Elections for the two posts will be held on May 25 and nominations open today and close tomorrow.

So far the only confirmed candidates are MPs Beppe Fenech Adami and Claudette Buttigieg, who will contest the party affairs post (see story on page six).

None of the 21 councillors who spoke in an hour-long discussion at PN headquarters in Pieta criticised the move. A solitary councillor echoed concerns raised by ex-Floriana MP Jean Pierre Farrugia last week and questioned whether the party affairs post should be filled by an MP.

The approved motion makes no such limitation, contrary to the Labour Party, which had changed its statute to bar MPs from occupying the deputy leader for party affairs post.

In a brief address at the end of the council, Dr Busuttil said the PN was “back in business” and the decision by councillors was a sign the party did not fear change.

There would be other changes to the statute, he said, referring to a proposal made by MP Robert Arrigo to give local councillors a vote in the general council.

A commission will be set up to examine the statute and propose changes to make the PN a “modern party” by July.

Dr Busuttil also announced he will be setting up another commission to examine the party’s financial situation in the wake of serious cash flow problems that saw employees receiving their wages late.

“This is an urgent matter,” he said.

The party’s doors, he said, would be wide open for anyone wanting to join but he insisted newcomers had to have the party’s interest at heart and “not their own”.

“We should be proud because we can be a united party. We are ready to go back to the people... we are ready to roll up our sleeves and win back the respect and trust of the people to make this party a winning party once again,” he said.

Introducing the motion approved by the executive last week, outgoing general secretary Paul Borg Olivier said having two deputy leaders would ensure responsibility is shared by a team.

He said having a deputy leader for party affairs would help the PN focus on internal changes while still offering a strong opposition to the Government in Parliament.

In an apparent oversight, Dr Borg Olivier omitted Guido de Marco when he was thanking all previous deputy leaders.

To shouts of Guido from the floor, Dr Borg Olivier smiled, tapped his forehead and tried to make amends: “I left Guido last because... he gave the party a sense of liberty.”

Reacting to concerns that such a move may weaken the general secretary, Dr Borg Olivier said the two roles were complementary and insisted there was no intention to remove the post of general secretary. The Labour Party had done away with the post when Joseph Muscat became leader, to rid itself of the conflict that was a constant thorn in its side in the previous five years.

Dr Borg Olivier said the roles of the deputy leaders should not be defined, just as the leader’s role was not defined.

In a first intervention from the floor, human rights lawyer and electoral candidate Therese Comodini Cachia said the party needed two deputy leaders “now” because with nine seats down in Parliament, the PN had to have all hands on deck to be focused.

Her argument was backed by veteran MP Francis Zammit Dimech, who insisted it was crucial to introduce this change now rather than wait for the statute to be revised by a commission.

We are ready to win back the respect and trust of the people

Victor Scerri, a former party president, insisted the party should not fear change.

“Structures are there to help our political mission and so we should not allow structures to stop us.”

He said having a deputy leader for parliamentary affairs was important for a party that had nine fewer seats than the other party in Parliament, where a lot of work had to be done. He noted the PN only elected four seats from a pool of 20 in the southern districts.

This sentiment was echoed by other councillors from the south, who insisted it was important for the party to understand what happened after it suffered a whitewash in the four southern districts.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com