Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/904009
maltatoday SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2017 News 7 YANNICK PACE PN leader Adrian Delia is close to consolidating his hold on the par- ty structures, after seeing his per- sonal choice of secretary-general run uncontested, and his right- hand man taking control of Me- dia.Link, the party's media arm. His next step now is to appoint three salaried directors in the roles of assistants to the prospec- tive secretary-general, Nationalist MP Clyde Puli: namely, Angelito Sciberras, Malcolm Mangion, and incumbent assistant secre- tary-general Jean Pierre Debono. Debono's wife Kristy Debono, the MP, was recently elected presi- dent of the General Council. But the party's newly-appointed spokesperson, David Bonello, was unable to confirm the prospective directors' posts. "I do not know yet, because I still need to find out myself." When asked about the salaries the new directors will be receiving, Bonello was equally stumped. "I definitely don't know that." Nationalist Party MEP David Casa was left fuming after Puli filed a last-minute nomination on Friday afternoon, soon after the MEP announced he would not enter the race. Party insiders said Casa was under the impression he would be contesting Pierre Por- telli, and that he withdrew after considering his lean chances at securing the post. Indeed the post looked set to be filled either by Portelli, who ran the Malta Independent from 2013 up until Delia's election victory, or Casa – the only other person to have voiced interest in the post. Then on Thursday, Casa an- nounced on Facebook that after discussing the matter with Delia, he felt he was "better positioned to serve the party as an MEP". But Delia seemed to have made it a point to keep his ally Clyde Pu- li's intention to run for secretary- general a secret. Then on Friday, just seven min- utes before nominations for the post of secretary-general closed at 12pm, the party announced Por- telli would be taking up the role of executive chairman of Media.link – the party's media wing – and that Puli had submitted his nomi- nation for secretary-general with just five minutes to spare, allow- ing him to run uncontested. When contacted, Casa argued that he had taken his decision not to run independently of the candi- date he would be running against. "I took my decision so that I could continue defending Malta in the European Parliament. Nat- urally, I spoke with the leader and he also appreciated that my ex- perience in European institutions couldn't simply be thrown away," said Casa, adding that at no point had he discussed anyone else's candidature with Delia. Moreover, he said Puli was a friend of his, and a person who would "be a good secretary-gen- eral". Pressed on whether he was sur- prised by what seemed like an or- chestrated move, and whether he would still have taken his decision had he known Portelli would be taking up the Media.Link job, Ca- sa insisted he had never discussed anyone else's nomination for the post with Delia. "I had already decided that I would not be contesting… if there was any manoeuvring, I am not aware of it," he said. Despite Casa's assertions, Mal- taToday's sources insisted that Casa was not impressed by the move. The source said that when Puli had originally announced he would be not be running for the post of deputy leader as he origi- nally intended, few thought he would go for the role of secretary- general, a spot seemingly reserved for Delia's right-hand man Pierre Portelli. The party's 'Delia sceptics' were said to have been irritated by the move, in part motivated by the lack of interest in the PN deputy leadership elections: only 11,546 or 64% of the 19,350 eligible votes were collected, some 4,000 less than those who collected their voting document ahead of Sep- tember's leadership election. Puli's salary 'being negotiated' Puli told MaltaToday that his salary as secretary general was still being negotiated. Moreover, he con- firmed that he will be leaving his current job at the Foundation for Medical Services in order to be able to take on the duties of his new post fulltime. Puli also confirmed he has every intention of con- testing the next general elec- tion. Additional reporting by Tia Reljic If you're a small business owner, this is the service you didn't know you'd been waiting for. Introducing the new combined service for your business and personal life. Approved and issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. 116 Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT 1444 which is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Licensed to conduct investment services business by the Malta Financial Services Authority. www.hsbc.com.mt/fusion 98262 – 09/17 REQ NO: 98262 For more information Call 2380 2389 Visit one of our branches Visit hsbc.com.mt/fusion New PN directors to be appointed as Delia clinches absolute power Nationalist MEP David Casa withdrew from the race for secretary-general a day before MP Clyde Puli filed a last-minute bid for the post, so that he could run uncontested