The new PN deputy leaders – Mario de Marco and Beppe Fenech Adami. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Beppe Fenech Adami and Mario de Marco were elected deputy leaders of the Nationalist Party last night, making them the first to share the role in the party’s history.

This means PN leader Simon Busuttil will spend the next five years flanked by the sons of Eddie Fenech Adami and the late Guido de Marco, the iconic duo who led the party through thick and thin and who received glowing tributes throughout the council meeting.

Beppe Fenech Adami was appointed deputy leader for party affairs with 76 per cent of the vote (668 votes), comfortably beating newcomer MP Claudette Buttigieg who gained 24 per cent (211 votes).

Meanwhile, an uncontested Mario de Marco was confirmed deputy leader for parliamentary affairs with 96 per cent of the vote (840 votes).

Beppe Fenech Adami said he was determined to work with everyone to help the PN become a winning party again. He specifically appealed to the 20,000 teenagers who will reach voting age over the next five years and would determine the outcome of the next election.

The doors of our hearts, minds, headquarters and clubs are open once again

He said the PN’s new leadership was wide open even to those Nationalists who did not vote or voted for the Labour Party at the last election.

“We have changed and the doors of our hearts, minds, headquarters and clubs are open once again,” he said to loud applause.

Mario de Marco said the PN had to earn the respect of people and could not simply change faces but also its mentality and politics. He said the electoral result was a call for PN to read the sign of the times.

“This is the party that believes in freedom above everything else. Not just freedom of expression but freedom of thought,” he said, calling for the party to become a “factory of ideas” that welcomes society in all its diversity.

Dr Busuttil closed the council by saying the PN had just made a generational step forward and had invested in its leadership instead of just its leader.

The PN yesterday also re-elected Paula Mifsud Bonnici as general council president with 85 per cent of the vote (747 votes) after she was contested by Naxxar local councillor Louis Bonnici, who earned 15 per cent (133 votes). According to the PN’s statute, candidates must obtain two-thirds of the votes to be officially elected. Otherwise, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated and another vote takes place to confirm the candidate.

Of the 912 PN councillors, 894 collected their votes and 887 cast them. This amounts to a turnout of 97 per cent, meaning 25 councillors did not vote.

Eddie Fenech Adami – former President, Prime Minister and PN leader – who underwent a coronary angiogram on Thursday, was unable to cast his vote though his son told councillors that the man he still considers to be his inspiration would have done so if he had had his way. The new deputy leader for party affairs also paid tribute to his late mother, Mary.

Former MP Jean Pierre Farrugia abstained publicly for very different reasons, saying it was because individuals did not shoulder their responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the party also voted to elect 13 members of the executive although the result did not emerge until the time of going to print since counting took place after the victory speeches of the three top elected candidates. In all, 43 candidates are vying for positions within the executive.

After completing its leadership team and executive, the PN’s last step of its renewal process will take place on June 5 when the new executive will vote for the administrative posts, including general secretary, treasurer and president of the executive.