Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/841483
10 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 JUNE 2017 News NOMINATIONS for the PN leadership will be open between 17 and 19 July, with an election set for 16 September in time for the party's annual Independence Day celebra- tions, the party announced this week. Effectively this means that the leader- ship contest – which for the first time will see rank and file members choose the party leader – will take place right in the middle of the holiday season, a time when many peo- ple are abroad, by the beach or in a detached mood. What does the party gain by rushing in- stead of waiting a few more months for the country to recover from electoral fatigue af- ter an intense political season? The discarded option One option which according to PN sources was actively considered before the execu- tive's final decision was to appoint an in- terim leader who would harbour no future leadership ambitions but would steer the party through a phase of soul searching and rebuilding, before a leadership contest is convened some time in 2018. In this way the party would have got its new leader before the 2019 mid-term test but would have had enough time to ana- lyze the defeat and thus choose a leadership which can address the reasons which led to it. Party veteran Louis Galea, the architect of the PN's recovery in the late 1970s as Eddie Fenech Adami's general secretary, was tout- ed for the post. Another option was to keep Simon Busut- til as leader until his designate successor is chosen. The epochal change, which brought Eddie Fenech Adami to the helm of the party in The Nationalist Party's new leader will be elected on 16 September, in time for the PN's annual Independence Day festivities. Why the rush? asks JAMES DEBONO PN leader Simon Busuttil has repeatedly insisted he will step down MEP Roberta Metsola has a solid following among PN supporters and has not ruled out running for party leader Analysis: PN leadership: A party on the beach?