Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/870005
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2017 5 News Only a handful of MPs willing to declare PN leadership preference The majority of MPs contacted by MaltaToday said their vote was a personal matter despite suggestions that they owed it to voters to clearly state where they stood ONLY a handful of MPs mak- ing up the Nationalist Party's parliamentary group were willing to declare who they were supporting to become the party's next leader, with the rest insisting with Malta- Today that the vote was secret and would like it to remain so. Following the elimination of Frank Portelli and Alex Perici Calascione last Saturday, the contest became a two-horse race between former min- ister Chris Said, and lawyer Adrian Delia, the political newcomer who has pledged to introduce his "new way" of doing politics. A significant proportion of the MPs, mindful of the prospect of having to work with either of the two candi- dates, have avoided publicly commenting on proceed- ings so far in the campaign, with a few exceptions. Her- mann Schiavone, Clyde Pu- li, Kristy Debono and Jean Pierre Debono are all known to be actively working within the Delia camp, also seen on Saturday cheering on Delia, while Jason Azzopardi was spotted with Said. On Monday, PN MEP can- didate and regular commen- tator on the party's televi- sion station Johnathan Shaw, called on MPs to "stand up and be counted" and clearly state whom of the two candi- dates they would be support- ing. Shaw argued that, having been elected by the public, MPs had an "obligation and duty to declare their prefer- ence based on their political judgement". "For the sake of having a strong and valid opposition, creating factions or suffering the consequences at a later stage is not an option," he wrote. MPs David Agius, Karol Aq- uilina, Robert Arrigo, Ivan Bartolo, Claudette Buttigieg, Ryan Callus, Karl Gouder, Maria Deguara and Robert Cutajar all told this newspa- per that they preferred not to declare who their preferred candidate was. Outgoing leader Simon Busuttil also stated that his vote was se- cret, while Mario de Marco said that given his position as deputy leader it would not be prudent for him to make any declarations. Attempts were made to con- tact all the remaining MPs however they could not be reached. "I will be running for the post of deputy leader for par- liamentary affairs and I will work with whoever is elected leader," declared David Agius, when contacted by this news- paper. Similarly, Robert Arrigo said he would be running for deputy leader for party af- fairs, "irrespective of who is elected leader". When it was pointed out that Shaw had called on MPs to let voters know where they stood, Arri- go questioned whether Shaw had himself declared his pref- erence. "It's very easy to call on others to declare theirs," he insisted. Karol Aquilina, who on Monday appeared to suggest the Nationalist Party risked being taken over by free- masons, insisted that in the same way that he had a right to association, he also had a right to keep his vote secret. Newly elected MP Ivan Bar- tolo said he did not believe it was right for MPs to declare their vote. "I have my preference but it should remain secret. People from both the Delia and Said camps voted me into parlia- ment," he said. Both Claudette Buttigieg and Ryan Callus said that "given the circumstances" they would refrain from mak- ing their preference public, with Callus stating that his position had been consistent during the past weeks, while Buttigieg said one should not "continue throwing fuel on fire". Three MPs declared that they would be voting for Said: Jason Azzopardi, Edwin Vas- sallo and David Stellini, with Stellini insisting that despite his support for Said, he would work with any of the two can- didates, whoever is elected. Vassallo said he believed Said's beliefs were more in line with what he stands for and what he believes in. "I agree that MPs should declare beforehand which candidate they prefer, abso- lutely," he said. "At least, the new leader will know straight away where he stands with each member of his parlia- mentary group." That said, Vassallo insisted he would work with whoever is elected leader, since his personal preference did not interfere with his sense of duty and respect to authority. "When there was the lead- ership race between Law- rence Gonzi and John Dalli, I had publicly declared ahead of time I would be voting for Dalli," he said. "He was not elected, but that did not stop me working with Gonzi af- ter the election, nor did it stop Gonzi from knowing he could rely on me." Premju Ġieħ l-Artiġjanat Malti 2017 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN The Competition recognizes: Innovative Crafts Products Crafts Initiatives Organisations which increase Inclusiveness and Integration through Crafts Crafts Persons who showed Committment to Crafts Prize Fund: €57,000 More information on: www.maltacrafts.gov.mt tel: 25690310/329 Applications close on Friday 29 th September 2017 (noon) Clyde Puli Jean Pierre Debono Hermann Schiavone David Stellini Kristy Debono Edwin Vassallo Jason Azzopardi