Resources Minister George Pullicino has not yet decided who to support between the two contenders for the Nationalist Party’s deputy leadership post.

Mr Pullicino is one of two Cabinet members who have not yet thrown their weight behind MEP Simon Busuttil or Finance Minister Tonio Fenech.

The other Cabinet member not to have declared his allegiance so far is Transport Minister Austin Gatt.

All ministers have publicly supported Mr Fenech’s bid except Health Minister Joe Cassar, who endorsed Dr Busuttil.

“I respect both contenders and have not yet made up my mind,” Mr Pullicino told The Times yesterday, adding there were no major differences between the two contenders.

However, Mr Pullicino insisted he still wanted to see how the two conducted their respective campaigns.

“I introduced Simon Busuttil to politics when he was still at St Aloysius College and I formed part of the student group Studenti Demokristjani Maltin. On the other hand I have worked with Tonio Fenech in Cabinet for quite a while,” he said.

Numerous attempts to contact Dr Gatt yesterday proved futile and questions sent by e-mail remained unanswered by the time of going to print.

The nominations for the post vacated by Foreign Minister Tonio Borg close tomorrow and the first election round will be held on November 29.

Dr Busuttil and Mr Fenech are the only contenders to have thrown their names into the hat.

The PN statute says that a contender has to obtain two-thirds of the vote to win. If nobody reaches the mark in the first round, the one with the least votes will be eliminated. A second round will take place with one contender who will have to obtain two-thirds of the vote.