News • 11 May 2003

Sant alone decided to keep George Grech – Anglu Farrugia

The decision taken by the Labour government in 1996 to retain former police commissioner George Grech in his post was taken by Alfred Sant for reasons known to him alone according to Labour leadership contender Anglu Farrugia.

Labour leadership contender Anglu Farrugia, in a wide ranging interview with MaltaToday says Sant’s decision did not go down well with Labourites and helped to erode the credibility of the party. Prior to Labour’s election the party had repeatedly declared that Grech did not enjoy the trust of the MLP, and the decision to retain him came as a surprise, according to Farrugia.

"As a party we had made it clear that we had no trust in the police commissioner of the time, but Alfred Sant decided to leave him in place for reasons unknown till this very day. Days before the 1996 election at a mass meeting in Qormi, Sant said he did not trust the police commissioner and then he was elected into government and left him in place," Farrugia says.

Farrugia is the second contender along with John Attard Montalto to challenge Alfred Sant for the post of leader.

In the interview Farrugia describes Alfred Sant as a good and intelligent football player, but one who was unable to score the necessary goals.

On the brief two year stint in government between 1996 and 1998 Farrugia says that Labourites deserted the party because the injustices perpetrated against them under the previous Nationalist administration were not resolved.

Farrugia says a policy of national unity was possible but it was not correct to leave people, mostly Labourites, who felt aggrieved by injustices to continue suffering.

In the interview Farrugia expresses his concern for the various factions that have developed within the Labour Party.

"It bothers me that some people in the party can do what they please while others find it difficult to even have access to certain people.

"Some individuals in the party and Super One have built their own small empire and that is something I cannot accept," Farrugia says.

He goes on to say that certain people stop from expressing their views within party structures because of the attitude of certain individuals.

"This is one of the issues that I will tackle immediately as party leader," Farrugia told MaltaToday.

Asked about EU membership Farrugia rules out taking Malta out of the EU. He insists that the country is now an EU member state and the Labour Party must adapt to the circumstances without compromising its social democratic principles.