The political future of one of the most controversial Labour MPs remains unclear, with Konrad Mizzi giving out mixed signals as to whether or not he will contest the next general election, PL sources told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Mizzi was linked to countless political controversies over the past years and has been a focal point for criticism against the Labour Party.

The question as to whether or not he will contest the next election is one which has yet to officially be answered. Some PL sources said Mizzi told them he plans to contest the 2022 general election, while others said he told them he will not be seeking re-election.

This newsroom tried to contact Mizzi over the phone and by sending an email to his email address listed on the Maltese Parliament’s website, however he was unreachable and no response via email was received by the time this article was submitted.

Mizzi has been living in the UK since January. The Opposition has accused him of choosing to stay in Britain to avoid possible prosecution for corruption in Malta.

Konrad Mizzi was often seen as one of Joseph Muscat’s right-hand men and performed strongly in the polls in his local district. As an example, in 2017 Konrad Mizzi was elected on the first count in his district (4th district), with 4,968 votes. Regardless of his popularity in his particular district however, he is a very controversial politician who is tied to countless scandals, ranging from the Panama Papers to his involvement in the highly controversial VGH and the Electrogas deals.  Some of his actions, such as the Panama Papers situation, resulted in a negative light being shone on the country internationally.

Many who are critical of the Labour government were more than pleased when he wasn’t given a ministerial post by Prime Minister Robert Abela last January.

Protestors had long been calling for his removal from government and for him to be further investigated by the police. He had resigned as Tourism Minister in November 2019, saying that it was due to the political situation in the country. Malta was, during that period, in turmoil after Yorgen Fenech wasarrested in connection to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Mizzi had, on the day of his resignation, re-emphasised what he has repeatedly stated, including under oath, that he has no business connection with businessman Yorgen Fenech, and no connection with 17 Black.

If Mizzi were to contest again, it is unlikely that his political baggage will be forgotten. While he could likely get re-elected, he would undoubtedly remain a main target for the Opposition, civil society groups and the media.

On 17 May, this newsroom revealed that Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, PL MP Konrad Mizzi and former MP Chris Cardona led the way in terms of parliamentary absenteeism this year. Data analysed showed how the trio had been absent for 29 parliamentary sittings between them, with Cardona missing 11 sittings, and Muscat and Mizzi both missing nine each. These three were elected to represent their constituents in Parliament. Mizzi had not attended parliament since 13 March up until the publication of that article, having submitted a medical certificate to justify his absence.

All three are PL political heavyweights, all three at one point formed part of the PL Leadership (Cardona still does), and all three have been at the heart of some controversy over the past years. All three are not, or might not be, contesting the next election.

January saw a change in leadership for the party, after Joseph Muscat resigned during a period which saw countless protests outside Castille and Parliament calling for his removal. Robert Abela had won the PL’s internal election in January and thus became Prime Minister.

Under Muscat’s government, Malta saw one scandal after another. Muscat, as popular as he was, was also a divisive figure in that while he was popular and that under him the economy thrived, he was criticised for being weak on corruption, and for keeping those at the centre of scandal close to him. In addition, given that he was the head of his government, all government scandals that were revealed were ultimately his responsibility, as the head of government at the time.

In terms of his popularity, one clear example is in the polls. Muscat, as the party leader and as Prime Minister, in the 2017 election received 14,674 first count votes on the second district, which meant that he immediately surpassed the quota. This was slightly higher than the number of votes he had received from this district in 2013 (13,968 votes). He had also won the 2017 election by a landslide for his party.

Muscat has re-confirmed with this newsroom that he will not be seeking re-election. This newsroom asked the MP directly, whether he will be seeking re-election, to which one of his aides replied: “Dr Muscat already stated that he does not intend taking an active role in politics.  So the answer to your question is ‘no’”.

As for Chris Cardona, he recently resigned as an MP, while opting to stay on as a Deputy Leader for the Labour Party, and thus this indicates that he will likely not be contesting the next general election. Cardona himself was at the heart of allegations regarding a trip to Germany and a brothel, an allegation he has always denied.  There were other issues throughout the years, such as the axe jibe, among others.

All three were at some point high up in the party leadership, with Cardona still being a PL Deputy Leader. The three not running could potentially reduce the party’s political baggage, but it is unlikely that criticism about the scandals they were involved in would stop completely. It also remains to be seen if and how the party would be affected internally if they all were to take a permanent step back.