News • 17 November 2002

Mifsud’s rise to fame checked in 7th district

The Labour Party is preparing for a surprise in the seventh district. There is a high probability that the MLP win two seats in a district that includes Siggiewi, Attard, Zebbug and Dingli. But with John Attard Montalto deciding not to contest the seventh district, and with the increasing popularity of newcomers, surgeon Anthony Zammit and Doreen Attard Montalto, the former wife of Dr Attard Montalto, the race for the two parliamentary seats is hotting up.

It appears that Anthony Zammit, a popular surgeon will be the one who will poll the biggest number of votes at the coming general election.

The second Labour Party candidate favourite to win a seat is predicted to be Mrs Doreen Attard Montalto. Her popularity is growing by the day and the hefty propoganda by her canvassers that the seventh district needs a woman looks like it is working wonders.

Maltese elections are renowned for the bitter competition that exists between rival candidates from the same party and it is not uncommon for contenders to backstab each other.

This is happening in the seventh district particularly at Zebbug where besides the names mentioned, there is the entry of former Super One chairman Alfred Mifsud. There is also Beppe Pace and Karmenu Vella, although it is not certain if they will contest the election this time round, even though Vella is likely to contest the fifth district.

Meanwhile the battle between the MLP candidates is taking place at the St Philip band club in Zebbug where many Labourites meet. Dr John Attard Montalto is the President of this band club while the President for the women's section is his ex-wife Doreen.

Lately Dr Gavin Gulia was also seen visiting the band club and has made new acquaintances. With the St Philip Band Club an influential place for Labourites it looks like both Dr Gulia and Mrs Attard Montalto have strengthened their power base in Zebbug with Mr Charles Buhagiar losing out as propaganda against him is being diffused among the Zebbug Labour voters.

To make matters worse Mr Charles Buhagiar received another setback when last week, the election of the Secretary for the seventh district was held. Dominic Zammit, former Zebbug mayor and a keen supporter of Charles Buhagiar contested Salvu Borg for the post. Canvassers of Mr Buhagiar pressed hard to see Mr Zammit through but Borg retained his place by polling 35 votes to Mr Zammit's 16. There was tension at the MLP Club in Zebbug, where voting took place as Buhagiar's canvassers later calmly walked out from the club.

Although Alfred Mifsud is seen as a possible Finance Minister if Labour wins power he has not risen to fame in the seventh district and is also looking weak in the fourth district, where he is also contesting. His brother is contesting the vice-presidency of the St Philip band club, and he did it with success. But still it seems that this has not been enough. Alfred Mifsud used to call meetings at the Corinthia Hotel, Attard to show his electoral management team how to move the propaganda machine in his favour. But lately such meetings have stopped.

Some say that Mr Mifsud’s roots in Zebbug make him a strong contender for a parliamentary seat in the seventh district, as in the fourth district he is only expected to sweep up some of the votes of journalist Joe Mifsud, who is not likely to contest the next election. But things are not looking fine for the relatively fresh to the MLP hierarchy as both the new and the old guard are making sweeping statements that the man is no good for the party and that he only wants to take Dr Alfred Sant's place.

In the 1998 election the Labour Party elected two deputies from this district, John Attard Montalto and Charles Buhagiar. Both candidates had been ministers in the short-lived Labour government between 1996 and 1998. Subsequently, Gavin Gulia was elected in a by-election after Dr Attard Montalto relinquished his seat when he was also elected in the sixth district.

In the next general election, MLP candidate Doreen Attard Montalto is likely to scoop up Dr John Attard Montalto's votes. Despite their marriage break-up John and Doreen are still good friends and have effectively formed an unlikely partnership.

It looks very likely that Alfred Mifsud, Dr Gavin Gulia and Charles Buhagiar will have to fight hard to depose the two new faces. Some believe that the stature Alfred Mifsud has gained by heading the Labour Party media and his "closeness" to Labour leader Alfred Sant may give him an advantage over Buhagiar and Gulia. But is that enough?

Although announcing his candidature last January and working very professionally on his personal campaign, Mr Mifsud, his chance of winning a seat is only that of one to four. At 50 years of age and with a successful career behind him, the former Mid Med Bank chairman is certainly giving it his all.

The closely fought battle in the 1998 election makes it hard to determine who will be the losers and winners in the seventh district. Dr John Attard Montalto had a good showing in the sixth district, and a repeat is very likely.

The situation is less straightforward for Charles Buhagiar who has now decided to contest the 12th district but with the popularity of Dr Michael Farrugia , Noel Farrugia and Anglu Farrugia it will be to hard for him to win a seat . There is also the accountant Joe Sammut who is vying for a seat in that district as well and Sammut is well known to be one of Dr Alfred Sant's allies.

The situation means that Mr Buhagiar’s chances are pinned solely on the seventh district. Despite being his strongest district, the going will certainly be tough for the former public works minister.

Gavin Gulia who hails from Zebbug has never made it to parliament under his own steam. In both 1996 and 1998 he was elected in by-elections, which could put him at a disadvantage if Mr Mifsud polls a good number of votes. The Labour Party will do anything to try and get Mr Mifsud into parliament but it will be also difficult for Mifsud to get into parliament via the back-door. The chances of a by-election have lessened because of Dr John Attard Montalto's decision not to contest both districts.

And the situation is more complex because in 1998 bank employee Bertu Pace had made a strong showing. Mr Pace, who was backed by the pro-hunting lobby, had polled the second highest first preference votes after Mr Buhagiar, but failed to get elected. He is expected to do as well if he contests, and with the MLP winning around 8,000 votes from this district no one is expected to get elected in the first count. The vote is expected to be heavily fragmented.

Mr Pace had raked in 21 per cent of the Labour Party’s total share of first preference votes, five per cent less than Mr Buhagiar.

The fifth person in the fray is former Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella. Mr Vella was not elected from the seventh district in 1998 but he obtained a creditable 995 first preference votes. It is still unclear whether Mr Vella will contest this district because rumour has it that Vella will only contest the fifth district where he gets elected quite convincingly.

So surgeon Anthony Zammit who is a widely respected figure in Zebbug looks very likely to surprise everyone and poll the highest number of votes and finally win a seat in parliament. Canvassers of the established candidates are concerned that Mr Zammit will hive off essential votes. They maintain that it is always difficult to run against a ‘doctor’ because voters tend to be more sympathetic to people from the medical profession.