Norman Vella Resigns After Schiavone Welcomed Back To PN Parliamentary Group Despite Meeting With 17 Black Owner

By Julian Bonnici
Published on Lovin Malta

Norman Vella has resigned from the PN, “as a candidate, councillor and member”. after the party ruled that Hermann Schiavone did not breach regulations when meeting 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech.

“I know what I told and promised those voters on a party and personal level. I know the reasons why they showed confidence in me and why they preferred to vote for me before continuing on other candidates in spite of contesting the election for the first time.”

“These are the same reasons why I challenged Joseph Muscat at a great personal sacrifice, joined the party at its worst time after the 2013 election, gave four years of work and also contested the European Parliament election, obtaining more than 7,000 first preference votes,” Vella said.

Schiavone will be reinstated back into the parliamentary group. He first suspended himself after it was revealed that he and Kristy Debono met Tumas Group CEO Yorgen Fenech, the man behind the secret Dubai company 17 Black.

At the time of his suspension,  Schiavone insisted he met Fenech to discuss the possible sponsorship of a conference room for a political event.

“I would be going against myself and all those who showed confidence in me if I do not express my anger following the decision taken by the party that goes against what we worked for and voted for two years ago,” Vella wrote on social media.

In the 2017 general election, Vella explained, Schiavone was only able to win a parliamentary seat on the fifth district by virtue of the 1,667 votes transferred from himself.

LINK to Facebook post

Norman Vella resigns from PN after Hermann Schiavone gets re-admitted

From Newsbook

Norman Vella has resigned from the Partit Nazzjonalista (PN) after the party’s Board of Ethics concluded on Tuesday that PN MP Hermann Schiavone had not breached any instruction or party rule when he met with 17 Black’s Yorgen Fenech.

In a Facebook post, Norman Vella said that he had joined the PN at the party’s darkest moment in 2013. He added that he gave four years to the party and had contested the European Parliament elections in a bid to stand up to Joseph Muscat.He added that he did this is a personal sacrifice as he believed in certain principles. Vella continued that it is because of this that people from the fifth electoral district gave him their vote, and allowed Hermann Schiavone to become an MP thanks to the 1,667 votes that the latter inherited from him (Vella).

He admitted that if he did not express his anger at the party’s Ethical Board’s decision on Schiavone, he would be letting himself and those who trust him down. The PN Ethical Board’s decision came after Hermann Schiavone suspended himself from the party on the 10th April 2019.

Vella decided to stand by his guns and resign from being a PN candidate, local councillor and member. He thanked all those that helped him and concluded that, notwithstanding the disappointment, this experience had still taught him a lot.

PN Board of Ethics finds that Schiavone did not violate regulations

Norman Vella resigns from PN after Schiavone’s re-instatement

The former PN candidate and TV presenter believes the party’s decision to re-instate Hermann Schiavone flies in the face of all that the PN fought for in the 2017 election

From maltatoday
By Kurt Sansone

Norman Vella has resigned from the Nationalist Party after district rival, Hermann Schiavone, was yesterday re-instated in the parliamentary group.

Vella who contested as a PN candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election and the 2017 general election insisted the Schiavone decision went against what the party stood for.

“Today, I would be letting myself and all those who voted for me down if I do not express my anger at the party’s decision, which I believe goes against what we worked and voted for two years ago,” Vella said.

He made the announcement in a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday night, shortly after the PN executive voted to re-instate Schiavone in the parliamentary group.

Vella also acknowledged the leadership’s right to take the decisions it deems fit and move the party in the direction it wants and in the circumstances had no option but to resign from the PN.

In the last election, Schiavone was elected on the Fifth District on the strength of the votes he inherited from Vella when the former TV presenter dropped from the race.

The district saw the PN gain a seat and if Schiavone resigned from parliament, Vella would have been in pole position to get elected in a casual election.

Schiavone’s mistake was meeting Yorgen Fenech earlier this year to ask for a sponsorship of a hall.

Vella, like many others within the PN, felt the party’s decision to approach Fenech was inconsistent with its harsh criticism of government exponents Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri over their connection with Dubai company 17 Black, a company owned by Fenech.

Accompanying Vella’s Facebook post were several congratulatory notes from others who insisted they were also “political orphans” in view of the PN’s direction under Adrian Delia.

However, others were less kind, accusing Vella of jumping ship and noting that the “fight against Joseph Muscat” could not be won with antics like his.

The PN has emerged from a bruising period after losing dramatically in the local and European elections last May. In July, Adrian Delia won a vote a confidence among PN councillors, giving him a renewed mandate to lead the party until the general election.

However, almost a third of councillors voted against him, a sign of the deep divisions within the party.

Schiavone jerġa' jidħol ... Norman Vella jitlaq 'il barra

Norman Vella jirriżenja mill-PN wara li l-partit reġa aċċetta lil Hermann Schiavone lura fil-Grupp Parlamentari

Minn Albert Gauci Cunningham ippubblikat fuq ILLUM

Norman Vella ilejla ħabbar li rrizenja minn Kunsillier, kandidat u anke membru tal-Partit Nazzjonalista wara d-deċizjoni tal-partit li d-Deputat Hermann Schiavone m'għamel xejn ħażin meta ltaqa' ma' Yorgen Fenech, id-Direttur tal-Kumpanija 17 Black.

Fil-fatt kien iktar kmieni illum li kien deċiż illi Schiavone se jerġa jidħol fil-Grupp Parlamentari tal-PN wara illi kien rriżenja fuq storja ta' laqgħa bejnu u Fenech, flimkien ma' Kristy Debono, fuq il-gazzetta The Sunday Times.

Vella sostna li  "illum inkun qed nonqos lili nnifsi u lil dawk kollha li tawni l-fiduċja jekk ma nesprimix għadab għal deċiżjoni tal-partit li nħoss li tmur kontra dak li ħdimna u vvotajna għalih sentejn ilu. Fl-istess waqt nirrikonoxxi li min ġie fdat bit-tmexxija tal-partit u tal-organi tiegħu għandu l-jedd jieħu d-deċiżjonijiet li jidhirlu li huma l-aħjar u jmexxi l-partit fid-direzzjoni li jħoss li għandu jmexxih."

Kien hawn li qal illi huwa se jagħżel it-triq tal-irġulija u jirriżenja.