Nationalist stalwarts Carm Mifsud Bonnici and Alex Perici Calascione will not recontest their positions at the helm of the party’s top internal structures, as the PN undergoes a personnel shake-up. 

Perici Calascione is president of the PN’s executive committee – the second highest body in the party – while Mifsud Bonnici is the president of the party’s administrative council, tasked with setting policy direction. 

Both will not be contesting the positions when they are put up for a vote in the coming days.  However, they will remain on the party ticket for the next general election.

Party sources said lawyer Joe Grech, who heads the party’s youth forum, MŻPN, has been earmarked for the top post at the executive committee while electoral candidate Graham Bencini is expected to head the administrative council. 

Bernard Grech has held meetings with all those involved this week

The changes will not take place yet as the two bodies still have meetings scheduled for the coming days. However, the sources said party leader Bernard Grech has held meetings with all those involved this week. 

Contacted for comment, Perici Calascione said he fully supports the drive to refresh and renew the party. Mifsud Bonnici could not be reached by the time of going to print.

Grech has been pushing for a refresh of key positions within the PN for the past few weeks.

Earlier this month, reports said that former minister Francis Zammit Dimech would not recontest the position of PN secretary general, making way for new blood in the form of 26-year-old Michael Piccinino. 

The PN’s general secretary is responsible for running the party’s administration and the role is traditionally occupied by an experienced political operator.

Then, last week, elections were held in the PN’s general council to appoint a new executive committee, with renowned criminal lawyer Joe Giglio and former Eurovision contestant Julie Zahra among the new faces.

Mark Anthony Sammut was also elected president of the PN general council, succeeding veteran politician Ċensu Galea.  

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.