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3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 APRIL 2022 NEWS Former PN media head says party must go into 'forced administration' LUKE VELLA FORMER head of Nationalist Party me- dia Pierre Portelli said the party should go into "forced administration" given the dire financial situation it is currently in. On Sunday, PN leader Bernard Grech revealed the PN was €32 million in the red and said it was losing thousands of eu- ros because of its media company Media. link Communications. Businesses opt to go into administra- tion whenever there are serious financial shortcomings, selling off their assets to third parties in a bid to settle debts. Portelli praised Grech's first moves since the March election, saying however that he could have been "bolder with the shadow nominations and shrewder with the party's financial status". During an interview on TVM pro- gramme XTRA, Grech said the PN had to be ready to sell some of its clubs. "We have to be ready to sell our każini, commercialise them… with the help of experts we will carry out a study on how to make best use of our available assets to stop the haemorrhage and cut debt," Grech said. Grech also admitted the PN did not have the liquidity to run an election cam- paign for the European Parliament and local council elections in two years' time. Recently Portelli said the PN needed a clear succession plan that paved the way for European Parliament President Rob- ert Metsola to become leader of the party. He had also said he would support Grech's bid to be re-elected leader of the PN, suggesting that Metsola is co-opted to Maltese Parliament in 2024, once her term as president of the European Partlia- ment came to an end in 2024. Grech will be contesting the PN lead- ership again in what is very likely to be a one-horse race. Nominations opened yes- terday during the PN general council that laid out the timeline for the leadership contest that has to take place because the party lost last month's election. In another Facebook post, former MP Franco Debono said he does not agree with the PN selling off its assets, insisting similar moves in the past did nothing to solve the party's debt. "I believe the sale of każini is not the solution, but a mistake." "In the past years, anyone who had a small piece of land became rich. Is it not possible for the party to utilise such a re- source like this a generate a profit?" he said. He said band clubs are the party's pres- ence in towns and villages. "When the party recovers and it realises it has de- stroyed its presence in these areas, it will be a tragedy." He said the solution lies in being more creative and using każini, its television station and other resources more intelli- gently. "There is no single solution which solves everything. The party must attract more people. It should not sell anything," he said. Pierre Portelli (left) and Franco Debono reacted to Bernard Grech's interview on XTRA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The findings show that almost 50,000 people suffered depriva- tion in at least five of the 13 cat- egories. The NSO said that the 'mate- rial and social deprivation rate' stood at 9.8% (49,769 people) and the 'severe material and social deprivation rate' stood at 5.5% (27,769). Both measure- ments experienced an increase of 0.4 points when compared to 2020. The two measurements are used to calculate poverty and form part of EU-SILC survey. The survey measures people's perception of their ability to af- ford 13 material or social items. Four of these items registered a positive decline in the number of persons who could not afford the relevant expense but the rest of the categories witnessed in- creases. The largest increase (+0.8 points) was among those who had arrears on mortgage, rent payments, utility bills or other loan payments. The figures show that 7.8% of people in 2021 ex- perienced difficulty to meet their loan payments, as opposed to 7% in 2020. Similarly, 7.8% of people lived in households that could not keep the home adequately warm in winter. This represents a 0.6-point increase over 2020. The figures also show that 33.1% of people, an increase of 0.2 points, live in households that cannot pay for one week's annual holiday away from home. A decline was registered in the number of persons who live in households that cannot face unexpected financial expenses – last year, 15.7% of people lived in such households. This repre- sents a drop of 0.6 points over 2020. Other declines were registered in the number of people who cannot afford a car and those who cannot replace worn-out furniture. The figures show that 1.8% of persons lived in households that could not afford a car, a decline of 0.6 points over 2020. Simi- larly, 15.9% of people lived in households that cannot replace worn-out furniture, a decline of 0.5 points. Meanwhile, the Social Poli- cy Ministry said the findings showed that poverty remained stable in 2021 and "almost at the same level as those before the pandemic". The ministry said that despite the economic and social conse- quences of the pandemic, gov- ernment's support measures helped keep the poverty rate at a low level. It said that when compared to 2013, substantial improvement was registered in either of the two categories. In 2013, the 'material and social deprivation rate' stood at 19.9% (82,253 people) and the 'severe material and social deprivation rate' stood at 10.2% (42,210). Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon said the impact of the pandemic was mitigated by the extensive support programme for workers, families, pensioners and businesses. "Government will remain vig- ilant and be ready to intervene accordingly,"Falzon said, adding most of the social measures for 2022 have already been imple- mented. More Maltese struggled to pay loans, bills and rent in 2021