It was unthinkable of course.

It could not be.

But there it was – an email purportedly from Labour Party media executive Mark Farrugia announcing the nominations submitted until noon yesterday for the party’s leadership post.

There were only two names. But one of them would be hugely newsworthy if it were genuine. For apart from Evarist Bartolo, Dom Mintoff was going to contest next week’s leadership election, according to that email!

It was doing the rounds in the media. Editors were receiving it.

But Mr Mintoff had endorsed George Abela for leader! Was he having second thoughts?

But any editor worth his salt would have known immediately the email was a hoax and that whoever sent it was a hoaxer, and not a good one at that, either.

For anyone really following the developments would know that nominations were being received between 6 and 8.30pm on Thursday and yesterday, and between 11am and 6pm today.

Apart from the execrable Maltese (n-nomini. . . jibqghu jiltaqghu) the email said the MLP electoral commission would be “meeting” (jiltaqghu) (instead of accepting) nominations until today at noon.

If that were correct, the commission would have curtailed the time by six hours, leaving just one hour for nominations today. The hoaxer had not even bothered to check anything.

It was obvious, with so many mistakes, that someone was trying to be funny, and that the Labour Party was the butt of the joke. But which editor would discard such a message so offhandedly, on the strength of spelling and other mistakes?

Mr Mintoff, 92 in August, gave up the party leadership in 1984. And he was going to contest the leadership election? Who could believe that!

But then, who would dare totally ignore it?

It only took a phone call for Mr Farrugia to confirm it was a hoax, and that other media were receiving it, too.

Mr Mintoff was not trying to make a fool of himself, nor was the Labour Party going to have more problems added to the pile it is already dealing with.