PN holds talks on Portelli successor

The Nationalist Party's top officials met on Monday evening to discuss a possible successor to Pierre Portelli as president of the administrative council.

Pierre Portelli resigned from his post as president ofthe PN's administrative council because of “professional career development which do not permit him to occupy a post in a political party.”

In a letter sent on Monday evening to PN Leader  Lawrence Gonzi, Portelli said he was stepping down with” immediate effect”.

A former Net News journalist, Portelli went on to become head of news at the PN television station after Nationalist re-election in 1998 but resigned that post in February 2004 to dedicate more time to his company, Watermelon Productions.

Portelli had formed part of the core group that devised the referendum and electoral campaigns in 2003.

He also denied an internal rift was at the heart of his resignation from the post. Portelli said his resignation was due to his professional career and because he was moving into a sector he felt "more comfortable in".

“The truth is that I find media more comfortable than politics because it is my own field of work,” he said.

Newspaper Illum also confronted Portelli with a rumour that up to several months prior to his resignation, various individuals within the PN’s structures had questioned how Portelli was being awarded shows on NET TV through Watermelon Producions, the media company he owns, while still a PN official.

But Portelli would only insist that “the commercial aspect has nothing to do with politics."

“During my time as Administrative President, I never received remuneration from the station. I always supported my TV productions through the advertising I used to bring in,” he said.

He added that “I would have done the same if I was doing a programme on ONE TV, as I do not feel I should be complicit in financially draining party-owned stations.”

Asked if he had to pay for air time on NET TV like every other company, Portelli said that he was not aware of what agreements the station had with others.