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The campaigning for the post of education secretary in the executive committee of the Malta Labour party has entered a new phase.
In the only post facing contestation, incumbent Aleks Farrugia, whose loyalties fall squarely within deputy leader Michael Falzon’s camp, faces an uphill struggle against Alfred Sant favourite Wenzu Mintoff.
Mintoff enjoys the backing of a well-oiled campaign team, headed by senior party officials who believe Mintoff stands to scoop up 70% of all the delegate’s votes.
Aleks Farrugia’s campaign has unexpectedly benefited from the telephone calls by the disgraced executive member Natalie Attard, who called delegates asking them to vote for Farrugia. The former executive member still serves as personal assistant to the deputy leader for party affairs Michael Falzon but she is also Aleks Farrugia’s sister-in-law.
Mintoff’s campaign team has been meeting in a private location and is heavily supported by a number of activists, including Roberto Francalanza and former party president Manwel Cuchieri. The latter remains a loyal Sant propagandist who last week returned to Super One radio temporarily replacing Wenzu Mintoff after having had his name cleared by the party’s vigilance and discipline board over allegations of anonymous telephone calls.
Smear campaigning was surely not unheard of in this campaign. Mintoff supporters were quick to point out that last year Aleks Farrugia had only attended two meetings out of 15 the national Labour executive held.
One the other hand, Farrugia’s acolytes reacted by recalling Mintoff’s scathing attack on Alfred Sant in the 1998 general elections when Mintoff headed Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green party. On Friday anonymous letters reproducing Wenzu Mintoff’s criticism of Sant on the Cottonera projected were distributed to all the editors of Sunday newspapers.
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