A meeting of the Nationalist Party’s executive committee on Saturday could become a rowdy sitting after an initiative by secretary general Clyde Puli to urge Gozitan candidates to join the race for a vacant parliamentary seat ruffled feathers.
Although many thought the meeting would lead to lawyer Kevin Cutajar being formally co-opted to fill the seat vacated by David Stellini, PN Gozitan candidates who contested the 2017 general election told Times of Malta they were personally contacted by Mr Puli asking them whether they were interested in being co-opted.
“I did not even think of contesting this seat because it was clear, at least to me, that after what happened, Kevin Cutajar would be the only remaining option,” one of the candidates said, prefering to remain unnamed.
“The fact that Mr Puli, took the initiative to even ask me about this possibility and to open a new contest speaks volumes on the present state of those in the party administration,” he said.
Another candidate said that when contacted by Mr Puli it became evident that the PN leadership was actively trying to find a candidate to challenge Dr Cutajar.
“Apart from showing that they don’t want him, the leadership seems unable to realise it is now damaging the party’s interests,” yet another candidate said.
Candidates Joseph Ellis and Maria Portelli both posted comments on social media thanking Mr Puli for his interest but rejecting his offer.
“It is my sincere wish that the executive committee will decide to give the vacated seat to Dr Cutajar,” Dr Ellis wrote.
The leadership seems unable to realise it is now damaging the party’s interests
Another PN Gozitan candidate approached by Mr Puli, Ryan Mercieca, also expressed his full support to Dr Cutajar.
Times of Malta was told that the same did not happen a week ago prior to the first meeting of the executive committee which had voted by 42 to 40 to co-opt Jean Pierre Debono rather than Dr Cutajar.
Mr Debono later said he would not be taking his oath of office as an MP after it emerged that two of the executive members who cast their vote were not eligible to do so. The PN leadership were then threatened with legal action by the party’s regional committee in Gozo if it persisted with Mr Debono’s co-option.
Mr Puli failed to reply when asked on Friday why he had decided to approach the Gozitan candidates and why he did not do the same prior to the first election process.
Neither did he reply to questions on whether this was his personal initiative or if he was instructed to do so by party leader Adrian Delia.
Soon after the dismal PN results at the May 25 polls, the worst since 1951, Mr Puli irked many party voters and insiders through comments he made on TV to justify the results.
Referring to a survey published by It-Torċa in 2017, showing a gap of 75,000 votes between the PN and Labour, Mr Puli concluded that the fact that his party lost by “only” 42,000 votes showed that the PN had made some progress.
Calls from various quarters for both Dr Delia and his aides to resign or seek a vote of confidence have so far been ignored.