Veteran politician Ċensu Galea has made a comeback to the Nationalist Party as interim President of the General Council, the PN’s highest organ.

In a statement, the PN said that the party’s executive committee convened today and unanimously decided to appoint Galea, 63, as Council President, succeeding MP Kristy Debono, who stepped down from the role earlier this month after just over two years in charge.

Internal elections for a number of party roles, including General Council President, will take place in March, shortly after party councillors vote on statute changes proposed by Louis Galea, the former minister who PN leader Adrian Delia has entrusted with spearheading an internal reform process.

Galea spent 30 years as a PN MP, between 1987 and 2017, and occupied a number of posts during that period, such as Agriculture Minister, Transport Minister, Communications Minister and Deputy Speaker. He contested the General Council President election in 2017 but narrowly lost out to Kristy Debono by 16 votes.

His daughter Graziella Galea is a former St Paul’s Bay mayor and is one of the favourites to take former PN leader Simon Busuttil’s parliamentary seat in an upcoming casual election.

His appointment follows the appointment of another party veteran, Francis Zammit Dimech, as interim PN Secretary General.