Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1471185
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JUNE 2022 KURT SANSONE ALEX Perici Calascione, 60, was the only contender for the post of Nationalist Party depu- ty leader when the deadline for expressions of interest closed yesterday. A former president of the PN executive and treasurer of the party, Perici Calascione will now have to be vetted by the party structures. He was also a general election and MEP election candi- date. This will be the second one- horse race after Bernard Grech faced no challengers in the lead- ership contest held last month. Both contests were made neces- sary after the PN lost the March general election. Perici Calascione, a lawyer, is not an MP, a quality that some councillors have said is impor- tant so that he can focus his ener- gies on the party that is in finan- cial dire straits. MP Graziella Galea, who was considering making a run for the post announced on Facebook that she was seconding Perici Ca- lascione's nomination. Galea said her decision not to contest was in the party's best interest and pledged to continue serving in her parliamentary role. "I will be giving all my support to Alex so that as quickly as pos- sible, together, we will continue with our work," Galea said. Perici Calascione had unsuc- cessfully contested the PN lead- ership in 2017 and presided over the executive during the tumul- tuous period that saw former leader Adrian Delia deposed by his own MPs. Perici Calascione's wife is from the Pisani family that runs the Corinthia Hotels chain. After he completes the par- ty's due diligence process, Peri- ci Calascione will formally file his nomination and will require a simple majority among party councillors to be elected in the post. The PN will elect only one dep- uty leader this time around after the statute was changed to elimi- nate one of the deputy posts. The incumbents are Robert Arrigo and David Agius. Perici Calascione to run alone for PN deputy leader post PN chief electoral commissioner Peter Fenech (left) accepting Alex Perici Calscione's application for the deputy leader post FATHERS protested outside the law courts on Saturday to raise awareness on what they claim is the judiciary's gender bias in de- nying them meaningful access to their children. The event called Jien u Wliedi: Vittmi Tal-Qrati (Me and my children: victims of the court) was held on the eve of Father's Day and organised by Flimkien Missirijiet Inqumu. The lobby group has been raising awareness on the way fathers involved in separation proceedings are being treated by the courts when determining parenting rights. Several men held posters with phrases calling out the discrimi- nation. One of the posters read: 'I am a father. But it's as if my son is not my own. They are eradicating his memories of me'. FMI President Claude Degor- gio spoke about how he spent 12 years trying to get the court to allow him to spend more time with his son. "I spent 12 interminable years going to court simply to be al- lowed to spend more time with my son," he said. "Today, after such a long time of being invisible, we finally stand here to show you all that we and our children are victims of the court. The biggest vic- tims are our children, and the representation of children, ade- quately followed and assisted by professionals, is necessary and missing." He blamed the state of affairs on the court's "lethargy and dis- interest" in these issues. Another member, Reuben Zammit Saliba Toledo said de- scribed the gender bias in courts as "an open secret". He added that gender bias harms fathers but also the child who have a right to have two parents. He went on to describe the ex- periences which have become common for parents in this sit- uation, such as short hearings, stalling in the courts, court ap- plications ignored for months, children uprooted from their father's home for no reason, and the lack of suitable and consist- ent procedures in the executive branch. Children's rights lawyer Lynn Chircop Faure presented a working paper, including a set of recommendations for the im- plementation of more effective procedures and legal provisions to safeguard the rights of chil- dren and other family members. She called for more under- standing and sensitivity by the courts when dealing with cases where intervention is sought. The people involved, including the children, she said, expect the courts to identify and imple- ment solutions as early as possi- ble. Chircop Faure called for deci- sions to be taken in reasonable timeframes and without exorbi- tant expenses. Other guest speakers at the event included PN justice spokesperson Karol Aquilina, Fathers accuse courts of gender bias in Valletta protest