Labour delegates were disappointed that Prime Minister Robert Abela did not turn up at the counting hall in Naxxar on any of the three days when local council votes were being counted.

Abela made a short presence on Sunday, soon after he declared victory for Labour in the European Parliament election, but did not visit the counting hall on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

On that day, be spoke to the media briefly. Once the counting process was concluded, Abela spoke on the party TV station but did not face the rest of the media covering the election in Naxxar.

A PL delegate who spoke to The Malta Independent on condition of anonymity said that, after all, this was a victory for Labour, and Abela should have been man enough to come over to Naxxar.

The delegate said that the party volunteers spent long hours at the counting hall to be of service to the party and make sure that everything is run smoothly, and a word of thank you would have gone a long way.

Another delegate said that Abela’s absence from the counting hall could be interpreted as admission that the party had not done well.

He is always at the ready to take credit when something goes right, but then leaves the responsibility on others when matters go wrong, he commented.

Conversely, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech went to the counting hall both for the EP election counting process and that for local councils. Grech always gave comments to the media present in Naxxar.