[WATCH] PN asked candidate to retract allegations he made against Franco Debono

Updated at 5:24pm

The Nationalist Party is being tight-lipped over its reasons not to field Marsaxlokk activist Hermann Schiavone - long held to be a rival of wayward MP Franco Debono - for not accepting to retract allegations he might have made against the self-same MP.

The PN will not be fielding Marsaxlokk activist Hermann Schiavone in their list of candidates for the 2013 general elections, a fact made public by Schiavone himself in a press conference held outside the PN headquarters this evening at 5:15pm.

Schiavone, already prevented from contesting the 2003 and 2008 general elections over an internal ban related to anonymous allegations made against him, said he was bowing down to the decision by the PN, which asked Schiavone to make a public declaration in which he retracts allegations he is accused of having made against Debono, by the MP himself.

Schiavone was prevented from contesting the 2003 elections after an anonymous letter recieved by the PN forced him to withdraw. The allegations of that letter remain unclear, but it cost Schiavone his candidature on the fifth electoral district. His wife Anne ran in his stead, winning 1,244 first preference votes.

Years later, Nationalist MP Franco Debono said he had been accused by Schiavone of having been the source of this anonymous letter. Debono said this allegation was made during a conversation between Schiavone and the personal assistant of Lawrence Gonzi, Edgar Galea-Curmi.

Schiavone today said he has refused to make a public declaration to retract this allegation, saying Debono had recourse to other remedies other than this public declaration.

While not denying the allegation itself, Schiavone said Debono had "freely interpreted the private conversation" he had had with Galea-Curmi, and refused to speculate on whether his conversation had been leaked to Debono. "I won't speculate as to what happened. The facts are what they are and I was then asked to issue this declaration. And I didn't feel that I should make such a declaration.

"I bow to this decision by the party, which told me they don't require my service. I thank Eddie Fenech Adami for his support in the last 30 years - politics has given me much satisfaction," Schiavone said, almost purposely leaving out any similar tribute to Lawrence Gonzi.

Schiavone was evidently irked at the fact that he was asked by Gonzi three years ago to canvass on the fifth district, from where he hails, telling the press that he was "very hurt" at the decision.

Schiavone also said he was unaware of claims that Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami had encouraged him not to make this public declaration to retract the hearsay allegations.

"I have committed no crime. I have always been loyal to my party and I love the party and I remain loyal," Schiavone said.

What remains unclear is why the PN set much store in asking one of its candidates to retract the hearsay allegation against the party's bete-noire, Franco Debono, the same MP who brought down the government in the last budget.

PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier had no comment to make on whether Franco Debono had been in touch with the party over Schiavone's candidature.

Earlier in April 2012, Schiavone launched his own electoral campaign although he already been directed by the PN not to campaign on the fifth district, ostensibly for having raised the ire of Franco Debono, who was back then threatening to vote against the government in a confidence vote.

The approval of three prospective candidates on the fifth district had already been put on hold by the party's executive in September 2009, in a bid not to irk Debono after he absented himself during a parliamentary vote.

Contacted by Maltatoday, Franco Debono said he had no reaction to the party's decision. "I disassociate myself from this issue. The party had issued a declaration in which it asked Schiavone to substantiate the allegations or else withdraw them. If Schiavone's denial is true, Galea Curmi would have said so."

Debono added that when he was informed about the allegation accusing him of having authored the anonymous letter that robbed Schiavone of his candidature, he had immediately notified the police to investigate the matter.