Former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono was pushed to resign from the Nationalist Party after her husband was charged with corruption on Tuesday, but in the end she understood her stepping down was ‘inevitable’, party insiders told Times of Malta.

Former Cabinet colleagues said Ms Debono mentioned that she was mulling over her options in the past days when it became apparent that her husband, Tony, would be facing charges in connection with the “works-for-votes” scandal.

However, in the end the resignation was not a spontaneous offer.

A member of Cabinet for 15 years under different PN administrations, Ms Debono stepped down on Tuesday and became an independent MP after her 59-year-old husband was arraigned under arrest and charged with 13 counts of misappropriation, fraud, abuse of power, falsifying documents and committing a crime which, as a public official, he was duty bound to prevent.

The charge sheet also alleged that Mr Debono tried to interfere with the investigation by attempting to prevent witnesses from giving information.

The case is the first time the Whistleblower Act is being used after having been introduced only last year.

The story was first broken by Malta Today which reported that a contractor turned whistleblower had claimed Mr Debono – who headed the construction and maintenance unit within the Gozo ministry – commissioned him to do private works out of the public purse.

Both deny any wrongdoing and Ms Debono has denied having any knowledge of such a scheme. Attempts to contact her yesterday were unsuccessful.

Her departure also precipitated a move for Chris Said out of the general secretary seat. He will now focus on his constituency, Gozo. Party insiders said this week’s move simply precipitated his departure from the position.

“The reality is that he had been saying for a while that he wanted out, Giovanna’s resignation simple made it happen faster,” a source said.

Dr Said, a sitting MP, was risking the prospect of doing badly at the general election because the demands of the position had left him with little constituency time.

Three MPs potential Said successors

Moreover, one source said, the party as a whole was suffering. “The reality is that Labour is now very strong in Gozo. Both Giovanna and Fredrick (Azzopardi) had announced they would not be running at the next general election and this has implications.”

This realisation may have an impact on who the next general secretary will be. Some had argued in the past that the post should not taken up by a sitting MP or even a candidate, but in the circumstances Dr Said was still considered the best option.

“This time round, we should make sure the general secretary is not either,” a member of the party executive argued. And this time round, this consideration may be all the more critical.

Dr Said’s two-year stint in the hot seat was taken up mostly by the house clearing exercise the party was forced to undertake after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

The party had to slash its party media workforce from 300 to 80 and restructure its finances to stem a dangerous haemorrhage of money that had been going on for some 10 years.

“In the coming three years, the focus has to be political, the general election”.

Many names are being floated as potential candidates for the position. There are at least three sitting MPs: Clyde Puli, Charlo Bonnici and David Agius.

Mr Puli could not be contacted for comment, while the other two were non committal. Mr Bonnici said “he had not thought about it”, while Mr Agius said he was receiving messages from people encouraging him to contest but and was “leaving all options open”.

The assistant general secretary, Jean Pierre Debono, has also been named. However, he made it clear that unless he is approached by the leader, he would not contest.

There are also a number outsiders being touted but their interest in the position is questionable. The list is made up of lawyers, bar one, Pierre Portelli, currently consulting editor at The Malta Independent.

His reaction was short: “My work at The Malta Independent is far from over.”

Lawyers Adrian Delia, touted for the leadership two years ago, and Reuben Balzan, also poured cold water on the idea.

Dr Delia said: “If the leader asks to speak to me about this I will obviously go and listen, but I cannot really see this happening. This is a full-time job we are talking about and I cannot just up and leave from my law firm. I have responsibility.”

Dr Balzan was more categorical: “There’s absolutely no chance”.

Another two potential candidates, Ann Fenech and Peter Fenech, could not be contacted for comment.