Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1178700
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 OCTOBER 2019 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 When contacted, Zammit Dimech would not comment but did confirm he had been approached by a number of par- ty members about running for secretary- general. "I can confirm that I am seriously considering the possibility of contesting the position of secretary general," he told MaltaToday. Sources said Zammit Dimech was ac- tively lobbying MPs and members of the executive, with many seeming to favour Zammit Dimech's bid, albeit with some concerns because of the politician's ties to previous administrations. The 65-year old was elected to parlia- ment on the PN ticket from 1987 to 2017 and last served foreign affairs minister un- der Lawrence Gonzi and in other ministe- rial roles, before serving in the European Parliament from 2017 to May this year. Sources told MaltaToday that a number of MPs and members of the party execu- tive had approached Adrian Delia during the summer, outlining a plan on how to replace prominent figures in the party's administration who are considered to be the cause for most of the discontent with- in the party ranks. "But Delia does not seem inclined to want to clean house, expressing doubts as to how he would be able to fire certain people," one source said. "At this point, Delia should understand that a change of key people around him would actually make him more effective as a leader." Zammit Dimech's decision to contest Puli's position does not seem to have been well received by the party administration. MaltaToday is informed that in a meet- ing with Zammit Dimech in the past few days, Delia personally discussed various options with the former MP. But Zam- mit Dimech is reported to have insisted he will continue to lobby among party members to determine possible support for his bid. Sources said that Zammit Dimech made it clear in his meeting with Delia that if he were to become secretary-general, he would not contest the next general elec- tion as a candidate and, furthermore, that he would only serve as secretary-general until a few months after the next election, whatever the outcome of the election. His position seems to be strengthened by the fact that no other possible con- tender has yet stepped forward, and also by the fact that PN grandee Louis Galea, entrusted with the PN's reforms follow- ing defeat in the MEP elections in May, is already pushing for an amendment to the party statute that would see serving MPs no longer able to hold positions on the party's executive. Clyde Puli, who is also a PN MP, would fall under this proposal and would have to choose between his parliamentary seat and his post as secretary-general. Also affected would be Kristy Debono, an MP who is president of the party's General Council. Sources said that Debono has expressed support for the proposal, as have many other MPs and members of the party's executive, who saw the resignation of Debono's husband, chief political co- ordinator Jean Pierre Debono, from his post last week as the first step in unify- ing the PN once again. Zammit Dimech's loyalty to the leadership and the party as a whole is be- i n g considered an ad- vantage to the PN's various factions that could have a unifying effect. S i g n i f i c a n t l y , sources pointed out that his bid was be- ing actively pushed by people who have divergent views from the Delia faction in the party. Zammit Dimech is not known to have favoured one faction over another in the so-called party camps and is considered by many within the PN to be above poli- ticking. Whether he could bring Delia and his detractors together is another matter altogether. Louis Galea recommended PN MPs be barred from posts on party executive Many party members consider PN secretary general Clyde Puli to be a control freak, unwilling to delegate any decision-making DAVID HUDSON DURING Sunday's riot, where around 300 mi- grants at the Hal Far open centre set fire to cars and attacked a police officer, those migrants who did not participate took the trouble to protect staff and other vulnerable indi- viduals. These were recently com- mended on a Facebook post by the Hal Far open centre's CEO. Mauro Farrugia, CEO of the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers took to Face- book on Tuesday morning to thank all those migrants who protected staff, helped them and stuck up for them. He did this, he said, in the midst of all the racial hatred on social media following the incident. "I hear several negative comments, racist comments, mired in bad reasoning and cruel intentions. As someone who was present [during the riot], I will not only condemn the barbarous act but also thank those immigrants who protected, who provided aid, those immigrants who pro- tected the most vulnerable and those who ultimately did not agree with the violence and did all they could," Far- rugia said. He added that AWAS was an obstinate and determined agency the likes of which he had never seen before and that he had no doubt it would bounce back from the inci- dent. In Sunday's riot, a police car and three other vehicles were burnt along with documents and other materials inside Hal Far's open centre. One police officer suffered slight wounds. Over 100 migrants were ar- rested on Monday morning and some of whom are cur- rently being charged in court. Hal Far open centre chief commends migrants who protected staff during riot Mauro Farrugia, CEO of the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers