Chris Said and the toxic link to the Gonzi years

Three former Nationalist ministers from the Gonzi administration of 2008 were the only ones not to be given a role in Bernard Grech’s shadow Cabinet.

Veteran MPs Chris Said, Mario de Marco and Carm Mifsud Bonnici were left out of the shadow cabinet appointments made on Monday by the PN leader.

They were assigned no role with Said immediately implying a link between their previous ministerial posts and Grech’s decision.

In a Facebook post that had all the undertones of a passive-aggressive approach, Said suggested that Grech’s motivation was the fact that the trio were the only ones to have served in the last PN administration and “continued to be elected” since then.

Chris Said's Facebook post in the wake of Bernard Grech's shadow cabinet appointments

“I am determined to be of service to Gozo and the Gozitans,” Said wrote as he wished his parliamentary colleagues well in the roles they were assigned.

“I am convinced they will all give their best,” he said, calling out for particular praise, fellow Gozitan MP Alex Borg, who was assigned to shadow the Gozo portfolio.

In last month’s election, Borg beat Said as the PN’s top candidate in Gozo, scoring 6,108 first count votes. Said managed 2,772 votes on the first count.

De Marco also saw his performance suffer on the first district, obtaining a mere 50 votes more on the first count than newcomer Darren Carabott.

Mifsud Bonnici was elected in the casual election held on the 3rd District for the seat vacated by Stephen Spiteri.

READ ALSO: Bernard Grech chooses shadow cabinet in major shakeup

The PN parliamentary group underwent significant renewal in the last election, with almost half of its MPs being newcomers. But the election also saw former MPs Jason Azzopardi, Karl Gouder and Edwin Vassallo, failing to get elected. Another four MPs – Clyde Puli, Claudio Grech, Mario Galea and Kristy Debono – had withdrawn their candidature at the start of the election campaign.

Grech has awarded key roles in his shadow cabinet to newcomers, while former deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami was tasked to shadow foreign affairs, a relatively minor portfolio within the Maltese context. Fenech Adami was also replaced as chair of the Public Accounts Committee with newcomer Darren Carabott.

Grech has said he will be contesting the PN leadership race that has to take place as a result of the election defeat. However, so far, he has been the only one to announce his candidature in what will likely be a one-horse race.

READ ALSO: Edwin and Jason - End of the road for two PN archetypes