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Matthew Vella
The employment of Joe Mifsud as coordinator to the Labour delegation of MEPs was terminated by John Attard Montalto, the head of delegation, because his engagement was “not financially viable”, the MEP had told Mifsud in a letter.
The contents of the letter, confirmed by MaltaToday, contradict Attard Montalto’s claim in last Tuesday’s edition of Bondiplus, that Mifsud’s termination arose out of an “uncomfortable situation” where Mifsud occupied both the post of MLP international secretary and the coordinator’s post.
In the letter dated 18 November, 2004, Attard Montalto tells Mifsud that “after a detailed analysis, it has transpired that (Mifsud’s employment) is not financially viable.” The MEP added that together with his two MEP colleagues, the possibility of a future position would be discussed.
The revelation comes after an embarrassing disrobement of sorts between the three Labour MEPs, who discussed on Bondiplus amongst other issues, the termination of Mifsud’s employment.
Both Joseph Muscat and Louis Grech refused to talk about what they called an “internal matter”, only to have Attard Montalto blurt out his version of events in an uncomfortable TV moment for the three MEPs.
But the letter sent to Joe Mifsud has shown a clear variance from Attard Montalto’s story. Mifsud’s employment, which was discussed amongst all three MEPs and Mifsud himself, had commenced when Attard Montalto took a two-month honeymoon cruise away from his Brussels seat.
Mifsud was employed with the Party of European Socialists on a EUR2,150 monthly wage, which would amount to some Lm11,000 annually – a figure distant from the reported Lm18,000 cited in the programme. He had resigned from Super One TV in order to occupy the post, since he could not be the recipient of both salaries. Joe Mifsud has been without a job since November of last year.
Joe Mifsud’s employment was confirmed by Martin Schulz, the PES president, in a letter to the secretary-general of the European parliament Julian Priestley.
Attard Montalto’s claims that Mifsud’s alleged double incomes were untenable contrast with the fact that a paid member of his secretariat, Nathalie Attard, also appears to be a paid employee with the Malta Labour party. A request for comment sent to Attard, remained unanswered. Nathalie Attard is also an MLP executive member and a district committee president.
Attempts to contact Attard Montalto also proved futile, as the MEP could not be found at his Valletta office or contacted on his mobile phone. Messages left at his office were not returned.
Since the airing of the programme, Joe Mifsud has sued the Nationalist media organs for libel for claiming he had been irregularly employed on an Lm18,000 salary as the Labour delegation’s coordinator.
The matter only came to light in a moment of embarrassment between the three Labour MEPs on Bondiplus when Joseph Muscat and Louis Grech refused to comment on the matter, only to have Attard Montalto blurt out his version of events and revealing the bitter relationship between Attard Montalto and the two MEPs.
Asked by Lou Bondì whether Attard Montalto had been aware of Joe Mifsud’s employment during his two-month honeymoon cruise, Joseph Muscat refused to comment on “delegation matters” which would not be “discussed publicly”.
“The matter was tackled internally,” Muscat adamantly told Bondì.
A less than coy Attard Montalto told Bondì that although he did not wish not to evade the question, he preferred the question be made to Louis Grech, who only repeated what Muscat said.
Attard Montalto later said he had terminated Mifsud’s employment because he could not be a coordinator for the delegation when he was studying as a lawyer, since the post demanded full-time dedication. He added that he could not occupy both the post and the role of the Labour party’s international secretary, claiming delegation funds could not be used to pay somebody occupying a political role.
When contacted, Joe Mifsud declined to comment on the matter.
mvella@mediatoday.com.
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