Focus • February 8 2004

Eddie resigns as Dalli and Gonzi prepare for race

There were no surprises yesterday when Eddie Fenech Adami announced his resignation, but MaltaToday can confirm that contenders Finance and Economic affairs minister John Dalli and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi are likely to be the first to put their nominations forward for the post of party leader.
MaltaToday can report that another expected contender, Francis Zammit Dimech, will probably not stand.
The other probable contender Dr Louis Galea was unavailable for comment yesterday, but close aides said that there is no decision as yet. MaltaToday also confirmed that Tonio Borg, a Gonzi supporter would not be contesting, but he does not rule out trying his luck at the deputy leadership position.
The election will take place on a Saturday 28 February and the winner is expected to be the next leader of the Nationalist party. Only a few weeks ago, the election of Dr Lawrence Gonzi as party leader appeared to have been a foregone conclusion, but in recent days, undeclared alliances have redirected all expectations.
Heavy horses such as Austin Gatt and Francis Zammit Dimech are surprisingly swaying towards an unexpected direction.
The Lawrence Gonzi camp owes much of its support to Tonio Borg, the Home Affairs Minister and George Pullicino the Environment and Rural Affairs minister, the latter reportedly captaining Gonzi’s campaign himself.
The Dalli camp is said to be organised by respectable veterans with a deep understanding of party activists.
Dr Gonzi may lack a rich curriculum vitae when it comes to his roots in the Nationalist party, but that has been compensated by the high profile backing he has garnered from the party secretariat which has been unabashedly pro-Gonzi.
Conscious of this, the party media have been given instructions to play down their bias and not to cover more than one event for any contestants in any one day.
Secretary General, Joe Saliba, confirmed yesterday that the executive had decided to agree that the contestant should never participate in a head on debate.
The two contestants are expected to launch their campaigns soon, though John Dalli will be meeting party activists at the Paola Nationalist club and later on at Mgarr, Gozo today.

See extensive coverage on pages 3, 4, 5, 6 and opinion pages