One seat, two hopefuls: Nigel Vella and Yana Borg Debono Grech promised parliamentary co-option

Former ministry spokesperson Nigel Vella and Labour Birkirkara councillor Yana Borg Debono Grech have both been promised by Castille a co-option to fill a single vacant seat in parliament, MaltaToday has learnt.

This newspaper is informed that Prime Minister Robert Abela has shortlisted Nigel Vella and Yana Borg Debono Grech to replace Randolph De Battista in the House of Representatives next year.

De Battista is expected to start in his role as Malta’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva next January, vacating his seat in the House.

He had also resigned from his post as Labour Party CEO last August, a few months after the European Parliament and Local Council elections in June. He had been co-opted into parliament in 2022 by the Prime Minister, despite not contesting the General Election, following a vacated seat on the Ninth District.

But the two fell out over time, with the MP going as far as publicly saying he had felt “ashamed” for voting against a public inquiry into the 2022 construction collapse that killed Jean Paul Sofia.

Nigel Vella: Addressing the First District vacuum?

Nigel Vella, a former ministry spokesperson, who currently works within the Home Affairs Ministry, hosts newspaper analysis programme ‘Paper Scan’ on Labour’s television station ONE.  

Vella had also been the PL’s communication chief before being appointed a person of trust in the Home Affairs Ministry’s secretariat.

Hailing from Ħamrun, which forms part of the First District, Vella is quite active in the locality, and is even the President of the Għaqda Mużikali San Gejtanu (Tat-Tamal).

Sources who spoke to this newspaper said Vella’s co-option is “sorely needed”, as Labour lacks political heavyweights in the district.

The First District is the only one not represented in Cabinet by a minister following Aaron Farrugia’s removal from the executive in January of this year.

The district, which has often served as a barometer of the national mood, includes Ħamrun, Pieta and Valletta. It is currently represented in Cabinet by two parliamentary secretaries - district heavyweight Keith Tanti Azzopardi, who is responsible for youths and Andy Ellul, who was however elected on the Third District. 

Sources said Vella co-option into parliament could help consolidate Labour’s popularity in the minister-less district.

Nigel Vella had been touted as the Labour Party’s next CEO, and had even been approached by Abela, but was passed up for current CEO Leonid McKay, according to sources who had spoken to this newspaper.

Shortly after a PL statement announcing McKay’s appointment was reported by the media, Vella took to Facebook with a cryptic post that he removed shortly afterwards. In his post, Vella wrote: “A phone call that changes everything. Not even face to face because that is too hard. A punch, two punches, this time around nothing will go unchallenged.”

A second source within the PL had said Vella’s post was a clear reference to the manner by which he was “discarded” by the Labour leader. But in a second Facebook post, he reaffirmed his Labour credentials, calling himself a “soldier of steel” insisting “nothing and no one can melt him”.

Vella’s second post made no reference to political opponents, leading many within the party to interpret it as a message of defiance towards the PM.

Yana Borg Debono Grech: Building bridges with Labour grassroots in Birkirkara?

Yana Borg Debono Grech is Labour’s most popular candidate in the Birkirkara council, which is currently in a political deadlock on who will be its permanent mayor. She was elected with 1,805 first count votes.

The Labour Birkirkara councillor is the third generation in her family to enter politics with the Labour Party. She is the daughter of former Birkirkara mayor Joanne Debono Grech and the granddaughter of former PL MP and minister Joe Debono Grech.

In this year’s local council election, no party obtained a majority in Birkirkara, with the PN and PL electing six councillors each, and independent candidate Kaylocke Buhagiar getting elected.

In July, she defied party instructions to vote in favour of Buhagiar’s mayorship, leaving the council in a stalemate, and leading to Nationalist councillor Desirei Grech being elected mayor for a temporary three-month period.

MaltaToday is informed the decision to nominate Buhagiar had irked a number of Labour councillors, supporters and delegates, most notably Yana Borg Debono Grech herself.

Shortly after reports were published on Borg Debono Grech’s unwillingness to vote for Buhagiar’s mayorship, MP Rosianne Cutajar, who was recently re-integrated back into the PL parliamentary group, had come out in her defence, questioning why such instructions were issued by the party, saying it is in no position to “hurt people”.

“Her grandfather and mother are pillars in the Labour Party who have always loved the Karkarisi and Birkirkara,” she said. “We made a mechanism to strengthen the representation of women in parliament, and at the same time, someone decided to deprive a woman, Yana, from serving as Mayor.” Cutajar questioned in whose interests’ decisions were being taken.

Sources said Borg Debono Grech’s co-option into parliament could be Abela’s way of making amends with her and her family, who still enjoy strong support among Labour grassroots voters in the locality.

Last October, Labour deputy leader for party affairs Alex Agius Saliba uploaded a photo of himself with the party’s councillors in the locality to his Facebook page. The photo featured Borg Debono Grech, with the caption “A united team”.