Ivan Castillo appointed new PN whip
He succeeds Robert Cutajar
Updated 6.57pm
Ivan Castillo has been appointed the Nationalist Party’s whip, taking over from former MP Robert Cutajar.
The decision was taken during PN’s first parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday evening at the party headquarters.
Castillo was first elected to parliament in 2022 from the 12th District and served as shadow maritime and employment minister in the previous legislature.
PN leader Alex Borg congratulated Castillo on his appointment as his colleagues clapped and banged on the tables in a show of support.
A Mellieħa local councillor, he is also the president of the PN’s Workers’ Movement.
As part of a restructuring of the way the Nationalist Parliamentary Group functions, the PN announced that two Deputy Whips and a Secretary of the Parliamentary Group will be appointed for the first time in the coming days.
Meeting just hours after the casual elections and the gender balance mechanism completed the PN’s parliamentary group, Borg said the PN MPs bring together a “mi of experienced individuals and new faces, including young people elected for the first time, who will brig new energy that will contribute to the good of the country”.
The new PN Parliamentary Group includes 13 new Members of Parliament and 12 female MPs, four of whom were elected for the first time.
Borg said this was "testament to the renewal process the Partit Nazzjonalista is undergoing".
The new Parliamentary Group will be sworn in on Saturday during the first Parliamentary sitting of this legislature.
While the PN will have a Parliamentary Group made up of 37 MPs, the Labour Party will have a group of 42 MPs.
On June 24, the PN General Council will meet to launch the process for the confirmation or appointment of the PN Leader following the general election, as provided for in the PN Statute.
The Council will follow the Regional Assemblies being held this week in Malta and Gozo.