Malta Labour Party leadership contender Joseph Muscat said yesterday he was "surprised" by the condemnation expressed by his four fellow contenders over his endorsement by the chairman of the Party of European Socialists (PES) European Parliamentary Group Martin Schultz on Friday.
Mr Schultz had paid a surprise visit to Malta on Friday, 13 days before the 5 June leadership election, to give a shining endorsement to Dr Muscat's MLP leadership bid, which is being run in large part on the strength of his European credentials after having served as one of the MLP's three European parliamentarians since 2004.
Dr Muscat is also the only Maltese MEP standing for the MLP leadership post being vacated by Alfred Sant after the party's internal election.
Condemnation of the endorsement was quick and furious, with other leadership contenders crying foul to the press once they learned of the endorsement.
This was followed by a scathing letter - penned by Michael Falzon and signed by George Abela, Evarist Bartolo and Marie-Louise Coleiro-Preca - to PES president Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.
The letter expressed "disappointment and dismay" over the endorsement from a PES official which, it said, was detrimental to the other four contenders.
The letter described Friday's endorsement as having been "deeply offensive, totally irregular, and highly unethical".
The letter added, "This act, in our opinion, amounts to interference in our party's internal matters. Not only so, but we are sure you would agree, that it is the Malta Labour Party as a whole which is a member of the PES, and not just one particular individual, and therefore we expect the PES to disassociate itself categorically and promptly from, and to condemn Mr Schulz's actions.
"We feel that we do not need 'Big Brother' to tell us who we should elect as Leader."
Perhaps it was unobserved by the four contenders that the Party of European Socialists and the Socialist Group within the European Parliament are obviously part of the same family but are run separately as autonomous structures.
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Reacting to the fallout when contacted yesterday, Dr Muscat observed how such endorsements formed a normal part of properly-functioning democracies, and that Mr Schultz had come to Malta "as a friend" to endorse his leadership campaign.
Nor does such a strong condemnation of the PES Group chairman bode well for the MLP as is seeks to become more open and to develop stronger ties with other Socialist parties across Europe.
Dr Muscat said he had not personally received comments on the issue from his fellow contenders, and added he had no problem with the fact that the MLP's television media arm censored Mr Schultz out of the broadcast of Friday's press conference.
Mr Muscat said he had not expected the event to make it to the Labour airwaves, explaining there had already been a dictate that the party's television media would not carry endorsements.
At Friday's press conference, Mr Schultz had seen no conflict of interest in lending his support to a single candidate, and added he viewed all candidates as valid contenders but nevertheless lent his full support to Dr Muscat's bid.
Describing Dr Muscat as a friend and colleague who has been instrumental in the EP's PES group in the last four years, Mr Schultz gave Dr Muscat's leadership a shining endorsement - citing Dr Muscat as a "convinced, combative pro-European".
Such convictions, Mr Schultz remarked, would serve as a great advantage to the PES should Dr Muscat be elected to the MLP helm on 5 June. He had added that he wished more of Europe's Socialist leaders had such strong convictions.
Having cited his "strong, sustainable working relationship" with Dr Muscat and the latter's invaluable experience in EU institutions, Mr Schultz added, "My parliamentary group has an interest in supporting Joe's campaign as we need more Socialist party leaders with EU experience... as group leader, and Joe's boss in Brussels, I fully support his candidature."