Labour shuns two PBS programmes between deputy leaders

None of the two Labour Party deputy leaders were available to attend two programmes on the State broadcaster, which would have pitted them in their first national confrontation with the Nationalist Party's newly elected deputy leader Simon Busuttil.

Labour's failure to participate in a deputy leadership 'face-off' with Simon Busuttil may well show the first signs of uncertainty in the face of the MEP's charismatic appeal with middle-of-the-road voters.

But a Labour spokesperson on Saturday said both deputy leaders were indisposed for the Friday and Saturday broadcasts.

Following Busuttil's election and in preparation for the looming general election, two current affairs programmes broadcast on PBS planned to interview the deputy leaders of the political parties together.

Deputy leaders Anglu Farrugia and Toni Abela were respectively invited to attend Xarabank on Friday and Dissett Saturday evening. But both Farrugia and Abela reportedly couldn't make it for different reasons and Labour didn't send any replacement.

"One of the deputy leaders couldn't make it for personal circumstances and the other one was indisposed," a spokesperson for the PL said when contacted by MaltaToday.

The spokesperson went on to add: "PBS does not dictate the agenda. Unlike GonziPN, which sends only the select few to face debates, the PL representatives are always ready to debate."

But according to Dissett host Reno Bugeja, the Labour Party said that they would prefer skipping Saturday's programme when asked whether they would want to send someone else to replace Toni Abela.

"On Thursday they also said they wanted to postpone it by a week," Bugeja told MaltaToday.

Bugeja on Saturday evening presented Dissett as planned, interviewing only Simon Busuttil.