The Labour Party's decision to grant former Nationalist Party politician Ian Castaldi Paris a surprise appearance in its general conference last Sunday appears not have gone over well with all of its supporters, with Marsa deputy mayor Josef Azzopardi taking to Facebook to vent his frustration.
Dr Castaldi Paris had been mayor of Lija and the president of the PN's college of local councillors, and an unsuccessful contestant to the post of PN secretary general before resigning from the party and from the local council last July, citing lack of respect.
There had been a few indications that the Labour Party was courting the former PN politician, including an interview he made on the party's One TV in which he said that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was delivering on his promises, but were confirmed only yesterday, when the Lija notary addressed its general conference and spoke in glowing terms of Dr Muscat, who he described as a listener and party figure.
But while Dr Castaldi Paris' Damascene moment was met by a rapturous crowd at the conference, Mr Azzopardi was far less enthusiastic.
"When you are not a Labourite, attack the Labour Party, damage the Labour Party and come to the fold, we lay the red carpet and raise you high whilst forgetting those who always worked within the party," Mr Azzopardi wrote.
"We forget those who have cried with the party when it faced defeat! We forget those who never abandoned the party, when even people in its leadership left! But will the PL find anyone in its moment of defeat, or will everyone flee," he asked.
"I know who it will find, people like me who love the party at all costs. I love the party even when it loses, even if I never got anything back as a result. I love the party because I am a socialist and not an opportunist. And if I am part of the party I am there because I want the party to benefit and not because I was discarded by another party," Mr Azzopardi added.
"A socialist for ever," he concluded, capitalising the words for effect.
Mr Azzopardi's comment indicates that the way PN converts such as Dr Castaldi Paris are showcased by the Labour Party may not go over well with the party's more diehard supporters, but the Marsa deputy mayor may also have another reason to be concerned.
The Marsa local council is up for election this year, and Mr Azzopardi may end up competing for PL votes with another former PN activist: former John Dalli aide Frank Zammit, who had served in the Marsa local council between 1994 and 2012.
While Mr Zammit's switch to the PL has yet to be confirmed, he did not deny that he will be contesting the next round of local elections under the PL ticket when contacted by The Malta Independent, simply stating that the newspaper "would know when the time is right."
Mr Azzopardi, however, did not make any mention of Mr Zammit in his comment.
Former PN secretary questions Castaldi Paris' motivation
While the PN has officially been silent on Dr Castaldi Paris' switch to the PL, its former secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier questioned the motivation behind the former mayor's Damascene moment.
Dr Borg Olivier noted that following his resignation from the post of PN secretary-general, Dr Castaldi Paris had confirmed his interest in the post.
He observed that in an interview he had made on 26 March, 2013, Dr Castaldi Paris had said that "the PN secretary-general must not take up the job to improve his quality of life or to acquire power, but I am feeling this call of duty after the electoral drubbing because I truly want to see the party return to government."
But only two years later, he pointed out, Dr Castaldi Paris was claiming that "he was making a step that he had always believed in, but did not have the courage to make in the past."
Dr Borg Olivier concluded with a cynical remark about the move.
"We all know that this is a government of paycheques. What is his real attraction to the Labour Party?"
Dr Borg Olivier also posted a video (above) of Dr Castaldi Paris' intervention at a PN general council in which the former Lija mayor says he is proud of being a PN member.