Former MUT and Forum president John Bencini has openly declared his decision to enrol in the Labour Party, even though he had been a member of the PN for 50 years.

Speaking on One Television, Mr Bencini said that he no longer identifies himself with the PN, remarking that the party nowadays is unrecognisable from the days of Gorg Borg Olivier. He added that after being a PN member for 50 years, in 2010 he sent a letter to the secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier, informing him of his decision to resign as a party member.

In his comments he described Labour leader Joseph Muscat as unique “for his conciliatory style of politics” whilst admitting that he has been lured to the party mainly by him.

Mr Bencini’s decision was not much of a surprise, following his recent participation in a political activity as part of the election campaign of Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro Preca. During this activity Mr Bencini chaired a debate on education. At the time he was still president of Forum Unions Maltin, an umbrella organisation formed by a number of trade unions.

His participation caused uproar among Forum officials, whose statute prevents them from participating in political activities, unless given official permission by the union’s council.

Some hours after The Malta Independent online revealed this incident, Mr Bencini announced he was stepping down.

According to Forum he had already presented his resignation in December, but was persuaded to stay on until the end of this month. Mr Bencini had claimed that his participation in the political activity was only motivated by his lifelong interest in education.