Those who live by the sword will perish by the sword. The comedy of errors within the labour party started way back in 1992, and was first used to oust the then Labour Party leadership contender Lino Spiteri – a man of quick wit and intelligence and a highly respected ex Labour politician. This was right after the MLP leader, Dr K. Mifsud Bonnici, chose George Vella to take his place – but Dr Vella refused the offer. Labour is now paying the price for its deceitful actions in 1992. It has not learned that people make you and people break you. Labour is breaking from within.

The poisonous anonymous letter written to the Labour Party in 1992 with the vile intention of destroying Mr Spiteri’s chances of thrashing Alfred Sant in the leadership contest still echoes in people’s minds.

Since that infamous day, the insults, the backstabbing and the demonising of each other has not stopped for a single week in the Labour Party camp over the last 16 years. It is now George Abela’s turn and after him, more victims will follow: Wenzu Mintoff, Alfred Mifsud, Marlene Pullicino, Adrian Vassallo, Stefan Bountempo and Chris Agius come to mind.

The vicious habit of anonymous letters goes straight down from the very top right down to Labour councils, and there is no sign that Labour’s impaired style of politics will ever end.

Proof of this can be produced in huge bundles.

In the 32 years between 1981 and 2013 the majority of the Maltese people will have ignored the Labour Party for an astonishing 30 years. Whatever the Labour Party touches and whatever it does ends up in a mess.

I predict that the same thing that happened to the General Workers Union in the 1970s and 1980s – when Labour had a strong hold on trade unions – will happen to the Labour-majority local councils. This always happens because of the Party’s interference with partisan politics. Until recently, Labour had the advantage of 11 majorities overall in local councils in Malta and Gozo. This majority – excluding Mtarfa – has now

dwindled to only three, and the projections are that it will very soon disappear

completely.

Hatred and acrimony

from within

A repeat of the Labour anonymous letters syndrome has occurred at San Gwann local council. The mayor became a prime suspect and, after the police had interrogated him, he tendered his resignation.

On Wednesday, 7 May, the San Gwann Labour councillors, together with the MLP local committee, issued a statement on the MLP’s official website calling deputy mayor Rene Savona Ventura a traitor and saying that they did not trust him because he had betrayed the MLP and had gone against the MLP’s political principles.

At a council meeting held less then 24 hours later, on Thursday, 8 May, these same councillors voted for Mr Savona Ventura to become mayor of San Gwann. I hate to imagine what sort of administration this council will have, with all this hatred between Labour councillors.

I pity the residents of San Gwann who, after two years of suffering under this inefficient Labour council, will have to suffer for one more year. I am confident that, at the end of that period next year, the residents will be relieved when the PN takes over this council once more.

Mtarfa candidate’s

nomination impaired

That is how the Chief Electoral Commissioner described one of the nominations for a prospective Labour candidate for Mtarfa local council, after the lady had a meeting with him and requested that her nomination be withdrawn. She presented her case strongly and threatened that, unless her name was removed from the ballot paper, she would resign immediately if elected. This was after Labour had found only one single candidate who lives in Mtarfa to represent it in the local election.

After the mess and disregard of the Local Councils Act by the former Labour mayor of Mtarfa, and the dissolution of this council, certain abuses are already coming to the surface.

The administration committee, composed of Michael Cohen, Ian Micallef and Noel Formosa assisted by an acting executive secretary, have found that Mtarfa local council was used as a Labour Party store, with flags and other Labour Party equipment kept in the council’s offices.

This confirms my claims that the Labour Party has reduced local councils to labour party clubs. For example, a Labour MP, Anthony Agius Decelis, has been assigned to act as a helper at the home for the elderly in Mtarfa. These things are out of order – the PN would have ordinary Mtarfa residents to do that work and no MPs would be involved.

Further examples of abuse have also been discovered that cannot be made public as yet.

The 1,726 Mtarfa electors will be asked to cast their vote on 24 May. This election is not being held in order that the PN or the MLP can claim victory, but solely so that the residents of Mtarfa can be provided with the services of a serious local council and not a Labour local committee.

I urge Mtarfa residents to choose with responsibility and to use their minds more than their hearts when they cast their votes.

Pawlu Aquilina

PN Local Councils Coordinator