Charles Bonello has been elected as the Nationalist Party new Secretary General, succeeding Michael Piccinino, who had been in the position since 2021. Bonello received 80% of the votes during the party’s Executive Committee meeting on Thursday 13th March, with 56 votes for him, 11 against, and three invalid votes.
Bonello, who currently serves as a Local Councillor for Fgura and as President of the Nationalist Party’s College of Local Councillors, was also the former private secretary to former Premier Lawrence Gonzi.
Prior to his election, internal party politics indicated support for Bonello from the faction led by former PN leader Adrian Delia and MP Alex Borg, said to be backed by DB Group. This faction favoured Bonello over younger candidates like Stefan Caruana and Liam Sciberras as being closer to the civil-society movement in seeking rule-of-law issues.
The party’s financial issues, such as debts of approximately €35 million, have raised speculations about external influences. As we have reported earlier, DB Group, which is one of its major benefactors, may have played a role in appointing Bonello, with a view to orienting the party’s policies in favour of big property developers.
As Secretary General, Bonello must face the challenge of the party’s finances as well as tackle internal factions in order to move the PN onto a stronger position before the next general election.
Newsroom
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