Robert Arrigo (front row, centre) called out Hermann Schiavone and Jean-Pierre Debono (back row, second and third from left) 

Three Nationalist politicians have played down concerns of a rift within the Opposition party despite the PN’s own deputy leader for party affairs singling them out for criticism to an anonymous Facebook user. 

In the Messenger chat, which was sent to Lovin Malta, Arrigo admitted he is growing frustrated by three PN politicians known to be close to Opposition leader Adrian Delia – namely Kristy Debono, her husband and PN assistant secretary general Jean-Pierre Debono and MP Hermann Schiavone.

Arrigo also warned the anonymous user that the PN will lose one of its three seats in next year’s European Parliament election unless the situation changes. 

Lovin Malta is reliably informed that the story caused panic at the upper echelons of the party. However, contacted by this website, the three PN politicians insisted they have no problem with Arrigo at all. 

“I take his comment with a pinch of salt,” Schiavone said. “Everyone knows I am friends with Adrian and have supported him from the start of his leadership campaign. I have absolutely no problem with Robert and will continue working in the best interests of the party and the leader.”

“I have always worked hard in the best interests of the party, in full loyalty to the party’s values, to its leaders and to my colleagues,” Kristy Debono said. “I have no problem working with anybody let alone with any of my colleagues.  I always held Robert Arrigo in high regard and continue to do so.  I will not let something insignificant as this spoil any of the camaraderie.”

Similarly Jean-Pierre Debono, who had given up his parliamentary seat for Adrian Delia, insisted that he has “absolutely no issue” with Arrigo. 

“I have always worked relentlessly for the best interests of the party in the several roles which I had the privilege to serve in,” he said. “I have done this with loyalty to the party, to the four party leaders I have worked with and to my colleagues and activists.”

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]