Paul Borg Olivier this morning handed the key of his office to new PN General Secretary Chris Said and said he was satisfied with his five years of service to the party.

He shook hands and hugged his successor and said that the past five years had been tough.

He praised Dr Said for his integrity, honesty, sense of service and love for the country and the party.

Dr Said said the PN, though the appointment of its new leadership, had completed the first phase of its renewal process. Tough challenges remained, including regaining the people's trust and solving the party's organisational and financial problems, he said.

He looked forward to this process, which would take another step forward today when the party National Council would meet to consider the report which gave the reasons for the general election defeat and, more importantly, made recommendations on the way forward.