Mayor calls Labour MP Jean Claude Micallef ‘clown’ over Marsaskala marina criticism

Marsaskala Mayor Mario Calleja has called Labour Party MP Jean Claude Micallef a "clown" (Pulcinell) and accused him of lying in an interview he gave the newspaper Illum on Sunday.

In the interview, Micallef, who was elected on the Third District that includes Marsaskala, said that the proposed marina would suffocate Marsaskala and the proposal was bowing to special interests. He also alleged that local councillors were not informed of the formation of a subcommittee for the regeneration of Marsaskala when it was set up last year by the mayor, only to be disbanded a few months later.

But Calleja was having none of it on Tuesday and in a Facebook post rebutted Micallef's assertion that the subcommittee was set up behind the council's back. Calleja initially described Micallef as a "clown" but the word was subsequently edited out of the post.

Calleja said that he does not shy away from any constructive criticism but called out Micallef for lying about the secretive subcommittee.

The mayor denied that the subcommittee was formed behind anyone’s back and published the minutes of a meeting that was held in August 2020. The published minutes show that the mayor set up the subcommittee and then sought the council's backing for it.

He added “Jean Claude, if you think that the politics of mischief and lies will benefit you, you are dead wrong”.

Micallef was elected MP in 2019 in a casual election after Helena Dalli resigned her seat to become European Commissioner. Micallef had won the seat after surpassing Calleja by a mere 100 votes.

Micallef is the only Labour MP elected from the district to have come out clearly against a proposed massive yacht marina in Marsaskala bay. The council has also voted against the project and asked for the plans to be withdrawn.

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