Simon Busuttil takes top EPP job, will resign from Maltese parliament

Simon Busuttil will be resigning his seat in the Maltese parliament after being appointed secretary general of the European People’s Party.

The former Nationalist Party leader will be occupying one of the highest posts within the EPP structure, effectively making him the second in command after party president Manfred Weber.

Busuttil replaces outgoing EPP secretary general Martin Kamp, who retires after 12 years in the post.

The post is a full-time job, which means Busuttil will be resigning his parliamentary seat in Malta.

This will necessitate a by election on the Twelfth District.

Busuttil became leader of the PN in 2013 after the party lost heavily to the Labour Party under the helm of Joseph Muscat.

He resigned as party leader after Muscat’s second consecutive landslide victory in 2017. 

Busuttil’s successor in the PN was Adrian Delia, who removed the former’s good governance portfolio in 2018 when the Egrant inquiry report conclusions were published.

The relationship between Busuttil and Delia has been a bumpy one with the former leader still enjoying the support of a faction in the party that has aligned itself to the civil society movement calling for justice in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Delia has congratulated Busuttil.

Congratulations to our @SimonBusuttil who has just been appointed Secretary General of @EPPGroup. His new position and responsibility in the heart of Europe is a testament to his abilities & qualities & the respect that he and @PNmalta enjoys in the EU. pic.twitter.com/O5LPNdRkZO

— Adrian Delia (@adriandeliapn) January 14, 2020

Busuttil had served as MEP for the PN between 2004 and 2012. Before that, he headed the Malta-EU Steering Action Committee as part of Malta’s EU accession efforts that culminated in a referendum victory that saw Malta join the EU in 2004.

Busuttil, 50, is a lawyer by profession and specialised in EU law.