[attach id=256568 size="medium"]Chris Said[/attach]
Chris Said has thrown his hat into the ring to become the Nationalist Party’s next general secretary.
The Gozitan MP and former justice minister said he wanted to be part of the PN’s renewal after submitting his nomination for the post yesterday.
Dr Said was the first executive member to submit his nomination and it is unclear whether he will have any challengers.
Incumbent Paul Borg Olivier will not recontest and the only other person to have publicly declared his intention to contest the post, Lija mayor Ian Castaldi Paris, did not even stand in the election for the party executive.
This means he cannot run for general secretary.
Soon after the March election, Dr Castaldi Paris gave an interview in which he criticised the outgoing PN administration and declared his intention to contest the general secretary post.
I am ready to expend a lot of energy to help the PN win back people’s trust
Contacted yesterday, the notary justified his decision to go back on his declaration.
“I want to concentrate on my profession for the time being,” he said, adding he was available if the party wanted to use him somewhere else.
On June 5 members of the executive must select six officials. Contestants for the posts have to be members of the executive.
The most coveted vacancy is general secretary, a post that will give the newcomer an immediate headache as the PN faces serious financial problems.
Dr Said acknowledged the problem was a major challenge and added it was already being tackled by the new leadership.
“To have a good organisation, it is important to have our house in order.”
He said the first important thing was to re-organise the party structures and open them up to more volunteers, and then reach out to civil society.
“It will take a lot of hard work but I am ready to expend a lot of energy to help the PN win back people’s trust with the aim of winning the next election,” he said.
The other vacant posts are: executive president, administrative president, treasurer, international secretary and assistant general secretary.
Nominations for the posts close on Thursday.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com