President in talks with parties over political tension

The President of the Republic, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, has personally called on representatives of both political parties to address the political tension and to seek ways of defusing it.

An aide to the President confirmed with this newspaper that a number of meetings took place with party representatives. Coleiro Preca expressed concern at the political situation since a show of force took place at the law courts, when Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi was arraigned on charges of criminal defamation.

Coleiro Preca met with secretary-generals and party presidents from the Nationalist and Labour parties to discuss the matter. “She told both parties that they had to avoid a return to the 1980s when political tension led to unnecessary suffering for many families,” the source told MaltaToday.

This very week, Coleiro Preca intervened with Independent MP Marlene Farrugia, a former Labour MP, who is the partner of Labour whip Godfrey Farrugia, after having declared that she would be attending the Labour party’s workers’ day rally today.  

Coleiro Preca called on Farrugia to consider going back on her decision, to avoid any potential flare-up at the rally after the MP had only two weeks ago addressed a Nationalist Party meeting calling for the resignation of Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri.

This newspaper is informed that Coleiro Preca told Farrugia that “we’re both mothers with family and country at heart” – Farrugia later declared she would not be attending.