Francis Zammit Dimech will not contest Secretary General role

Nationalist Party secretary general Francis Zammit Dimech will not be contesting the role.

Zammit Dimech will be making way for younger faces to take the helm of the party’s administration, with reports suggesting Michael Piccinino will be taking his place.

Elections will be held next week, with 18 posts on the PN’s executive committee expected to be filled.

Piccinino was made PN organisational executive secretary last November, a junior role to secretary general.

The former MEP was made interim secretary general when Adrian Delia was still Nationalist leader, after Clyde Puli stepped down from the role.

Earlier in the year, party sources had said they were expecting Zammit Dimech to stay on as secretary general.

He had also confirmed his intention of staying.

In June, MaltaToday reported that leader Bernard Grech had approached MEP Roberta Metsola and candidate Joe Giglio to consider running for deputy leaders.

The move came ahead of this month’s General Council, but there is no election in such a party council, because the party statute mandates the term of the leadership positions till after each general election.

But despite Grech’s approach, both possible contenders are hoping to see David Agius and Robert Arrigo – elected as deputy leaders for parliamentary, and party affairs respectively after Adrian Delia’s election as leader – step down from their posts willingly.

At least one of the incumbents communicated to MPs of his reservations that it should be Bernard Grech himself to make his wishes clearly, and personally, to them so that they can resign and make way for new blood.