Ian Castaldi Paris vying for PN secretary-general post
Lija mayor Ian Castaldi Paris to contest PN secretary-general post.
Lija mayor Ian Castaldi Paris will be contesting the PN secretary-genral post, vacated by Paul Borg Olivier, who will not seek re-election after the party's dismal showing at the polls.
"The PN needs a secretary-general who is down to earth with leading skills and who is a doer," Castaldi Paris told MaltaToday.
Earlier this week, the 34-year-old public notary was re-elected as Lija mayor with 36% of all votes cast in the locality.
"I can go for it and I want the PN to be a successful party once again," he said, adding that he has received a lot of support and encouragement to throw his hat in the ring.
Speaking to MaltaToday, Castaldi Paris said that he was at the right age to undertake the task and added that he considers himself to be a doer.
Underpinning the need for an overhaul within the party, including its finances, Castaldi Paris said there was no better time to go for the job since "people outside the party are demanding a change and the negative characters within the party structures are now gone."
Castaldi Paris, who is also the chairman of the Majjistral Nature and History Park, has at times been at loggerheads with the outgoing PN administration and in 2011 he had resigned from president of the Nationalist Party's College of Councillors.
An unswerving environmental advocate, in recent years Castaldi Paris, objected to two major development projects that would have arguably impacted the character of the picturesque village of Lija.
The first concerned a development application across the road from the Belvedere (on the road leading into the main square); the second an application for a 40,000 square metre development that Castaldi Paris argued shouldn't even have been considered in the first place.
This morning, the PN leader Lawrence Gonzi announced that the party's executive committee would be meeting on Thursday to discuss the process and dates for the election of PN leader, deputy leader and secretary-general.