Lawrence Gonzi-Links Kept PN Stalwarts Out Of Bernard Grech’s Shadow Cabinet
Chris Said, Mario de Marco and Carm Mifsud Bonnici were kept out of PN leader Bernard Grech’s new Shadow Cabinet because they served within former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s Cabinet.
Said revealed the detail in a social media post following the announcement of Grech’s Shadow Cabinet, which included some major changes. He said that Grech expressly told him this was the reason they were being kept out.
The three men did serve as ministers and parliamentary secretaries during Gonzi’s administration. Said, who served as Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue and Information from 2008, was eventually appointed Minister for Justice, Dialogue and Family in 2012 after Mifsud Bonnici was ousted following a vote of no-confidence.
De Marco, meanwhile, served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and the Minister for Tourism, Environment and Culture during the 2008-2013 legislature.
The three men have been MPs for the better part of two decades, with Mifsud Bonnici first joining parliament in 1998, de Marco in 2003 and Said in 2008. De Marco and Said were both serious contenders for PN leadership at times
Said and de Marco have been replaced by newcomers to parliament with Alex Borg and Jerome Caruana Cilia taking over the roles of Gozo Spokesperson and Finance Spokesperson respectively. Beppe Fenech Adami has taken over Mifsud Bonnici’s Foreign Affairs portfolio.
Said and de Marco did perform well in the last general election but fell short of their replacements, who performed impressively well in their first general election.
The same cannot be said for Mifsud Bonnici, who had to rely on Janice Chetcuti manipulating the gender corrective mechanism to secure a seat.
What do you think of the changes?
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