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Karl Stagno-Navarra
August has revealed itself quite a preview to some of the PN faces, who are currently testing their ground in new electoral districts. Village festas and public festivals have proved to be quite revealing and speculative, as well as causing evident discomfort amongst anchored district veterans.
Santa Marija feast celebrated in Mosta last Tuesday raised many eyebrows, as Beppe Fenech Adami, son of former Prime Minister and current President of the Republic Eddie Fenech Adami, gathered crowds around him as he was spotted handshaking outside the PN club.
As the word went round like wildfire by the crowds at the feast, it was made certain that Beppe Fenech Adami would be contesting the Mosta district.
However, contacted yesterday Beppe Fenech Adami – who will be contesting the general elections for the first time – told MaltaToday he has no intention whatsoever in contesting the eleventh electoral district, which includes Mosta, and was for years a district contested by his father.
“I will be contesting in Birkirkara,” he assured MaltaToday. However when asked about if he will contest on any other district, Beppe Fenech Adami was clear: “I will follow instructions as indicated by the party.”
Another face spotted handshaking at Mosta’s Santa Marija feast was outspoken PN environmentalist Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who accompanied by former PN Minister Lawrence Gatt introduced himself as a new candidate on the district.
Pullicino Orlando, who won himself a lot of respect for his stand in parliament against government’s plans for an engineered landfill in the proximity of the Mnajdra temples, stressed his respect for Lawrence Gatt as “one of the most influential personalities in Mosta”. He added that Gatt is “an old and good family friend”.
Architect Lawrence Gatt, who served as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries until 1994, had resigned his post following revelations about his son Etienne, who allegedly used his father’s office as a meeting place for a drug trafficking ring, involving Meinrad Calleja and Ciro del Negro.
Evidence given in court by former Police Commissioner George Grech during Meinrad Calleja’s trial on Richard Cachia Caruana’s assassination plot, revealed that Etienne Gatt had fled the country in 1995 and always refused to return to testify and corroborate evidence that both he and Meinrad Calleja had actively discussed Cachia Caruana’s role in their fathers’ respective resignations.
ksnavarra@mediatoday.com.mt
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