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Labour’s INFLUENTIAL and steadfast MP George Vella, has turned down an offer by two party activists to serve as MLP’s new leader.
MaltaToday can reveal that two of the Labour party’s activists – the less prominent Steve McCarthy and executive member Joe Zrinzo – have approached former MLP deputy leader Dr George Vella with such a proposal before the last Labour party conference.
The former foreign minister was also informed that this proposition had the ‘understanding’ of one of the present leaders in the Labour party.
Vella has however reacted furiously to the proposal by telling the two gentlemen he had no intention of entertaining their plan.
Contacted on Friday, Steve McCarthy, a former discussion host on the defunct Max Plus, refused to comment to this newspaper, saying only that he would comment after reading the news. Insistent requests for him to deny or confirm the news led to a persistent ‘no comment’.
Joe Zrinzo, a former activist of the Campaign for National Independence and presently a district secretary but ironically a former Nationalist party supporter, could not be contacted. Zrinzo is the father of the young MLP president and lawyer Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.
The attempt by the two activists to entice Vella to take up their proposal surfaced some weeks ago during a closed session ‘assembly’ meeting during which the European Constitution was being discussed with Labour party delegates from a particular district.
In the meeting Joe Zrinzo, who is also a Labour delegate, criticised George Vella, who was entrusted with presenting the MLP’s arguments in favour of the European Constitution.
Known for his temperament, Dr Vella flared and later on walked out of the gathering, where in an adjacent room he blew up in front of half a dozen delegates, including some high officials, and blurted out the details of the approach by Steve McCarthy and
Joe Zrinzo.
Unknown to many media observers, Sant loyalists had already been eyeing McCarthy and Zrinzo. A taste of the tension with the two activists surfaced this week when In-Nazzjon reported incidents in the Labour party executive.
What the Nationalist party organ did not report however is that MLP secretary-general Jason Micallef had vehemently confronted Joe Zrinzo for his role in fomenting dissent and attacking party leader Alfred Sant. Mr Zrinzo is not known to be close to deputy leader Charles Mangion.
MaltaToday is informed that the Vigilance and Discipline board is investigating certain individuals in relation to recent developments.
When contacted, Jason Micallef refused to answer questions. He angrily replied that MaltaToday would do its readers a better service by investigating the country’s economic ills.
Micallef insisted the party was united behind Alfred Sant and recent surveys in the hands of third parties with no sympathy for the Labour party confirmed that Labour leader Alfred Sant was far more popular than Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
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