Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1465136
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 APRIL 2022 NEWS KURT SANSONE THREE former Nationalist min- isters from the Gonzi administra- tion of 2008 were the only ones not to be given a role in Bernard Grech's shadow Cabinet. Veteran MPs Chris Said, Mario de Marco and Carm Mifsud Bonnici were left out of the shadow cabinet appoint- ments made on Monday by the PN leader. They were assigned no role with Said immediately imply- ing a link between their pre- vious ministerial posts and Grech's decision. In a Facebook post that had all the undertones of a passive-ag- gressive approach, Said sug- gested that Grech's motivation was the fact that the trio were the only ones to have served in the last PN administration and "continued to be elected" since then. "I am determined to be of service to Gozo and Gozitans," Said wrote as he wished his parliamentary colleagues well in the roles they were assigned. "I am convinced they will all give their best," he said, calling out for particular praise, fellow Gozitan MP Alex Borg, who was assigned to shadow the Gozo portfolio. In last month's election, Borg beat Said as the PN's top can- didate in Gozo, scoring 6,108 first count votes. Said managed 2,772 votes on the first count. De Marco also saw his perfor- mance suffer on the first dis- trict, obtaining a mere 50 votes more on the first count than newcomer Darren Carabott. Mifsud Bonnici was elected in the casual election held on the 3rd District for the seat vacat- ed by Stephen Spiteri. The PN parliamentary group underwent significant renewal in the last election, with almost half of its MPs being newcom- ers. But the election also saw former MPs Jason Azzopardi, Karl Gouder and Edwin Vas- sallo, failing to get elected. An- other four MPs – Clyde Puli, Claudio Grech, Mario Galea and Kristy Debono – had with- drawn their candidature at the start of the election campaign. Grech has awarded key roles in his shadow cabinet to new- comers, while former deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami was tasked to shadow foreign affairs, a relatively minor port- folio within the Maltese con- text. Fenech Adami was also replaced as chair of the Pub- lic Accounts Committee with newcomer Darren Carabott. Grech has said he will be con- testing the PN leadership race that has to take place as a result of the election defeat. Howev- er, so far, he has been the on- ly one to announce his candi- dature in what will likely be a one-horse race. Chris Said and the toxic link to the Gonzi years Chris Said: "I am determined to be of service to Gozo and Gozitans" CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 He added that the formal lead- ership contest process will kick off on Sunday with the opening of the general council, the par- ty's highest organ. "The general council opens on Sunday but will only close when the leader- ship contest ends and the lead- er is elected," the spokesperson said. The timeline will set out the periods for the nomination pro- cess, the vetting of candidates, the period for campaigning and the dates when the relevant votes will be taken. The length of the race is determined by the statute but will also depend on how many candidates contest. So far, incumbent Bernard Grech is the only person to an- nounce that he will be contest- ing the leadership. If he remains the sole candi- date, Grech will only need a sim- ple majority in the PN's general council to secure a second term. The general council is made up of more than 1,600 party dele- gates (councillors) from the par- ty's various structures. However, if more than two can- didates contest, a secret vote will first be held in the general coun- cil to whittle down the list. The top two candidates will then face off in an election among party members. If only two candidates contest the leadership, the deci- sion will be taken directly by the party's membership base. But members are unlikely to have a say as things stand now with no contender coming for- ward to challenge the incum- bent. Grech's predecessor Adrian Delia has ruled out a leadership bid as have successful newcom- ers Joe Giglio and Mark Antho- ny Sammut. In the leadership race of two years ago, Grech had obtained 69.3% of the members' vote to beat incumbent Adrian Delia. At the time, 18,362 card carrying members voted in a leadership race that kick-started with a re- volt within the PN's parliamen- tary group. Grech had obtained 12,663 votes against Delia's 5,622. There were 77 invalid votes. The PN suffered a bruising de- feat in last month's election, the third in a row. Incumbent Bernard Grech only person to announce intent to contest the leadership Clockwise from left: Adrian Delia has ruled out a leadership bid as have Joe Giglio and Mark Anthony Sammut