PN stalwarts Mario de Marco, Chris Said and Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici were noticeably omitted from Bernard Grech’s new Shadow Cabinet, with the PN leader instituting a major shakeup following the election defeat.

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. 

It marks a major fall from the former PN heavyweight. De Marco and Said were both serious contenders for PN leadership at times, while Mifsud Bonnici had served as a minister in PN administrations.

Said and de Marco have been replaced by newcomers to parliament with Alex Borg and Jerome Caruana Cilia taking over the roles of Gozo Spokesperson and Finance Spokesperson respectively.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?