PN gives Frank Portelli the thumbs down for xenophobic, homophobic rants

The Nationalist Party was forced to issue a condemnation after one of its leadership candidates indulged in a xenophobic rant, as well as hitting out at gay men – who according to Frank Portelli would trap women into marriage to have children before walking away.

The PN, who did not name Portelli but simply referred to him as “one of the leadership candidates”, said it was against xenophobia and homophobia.

On irregular migration, Portelli claimed that he would work towards repatriating 80% of irregular migrants as he insisted that he was against multiculturalism. He accused asylum seekers of “bringing their wars to Malta with them”.

Distancing itself from comments made by Portelli on Facebook posts and during TV interviews, the PN said that it believed in respect and tolerance.

“Comments that fan xenophobia, directly and indirectly, go against the principles and values of the PN and the party’s line,” the party declared.

In a separate Facebook post uploaded on 30 July at 1.22am, Portelli wrote: “Gay can marry a straight woman have children then walk away to marry a gay”. A few minutes earlier, he shared a photo of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with Imam Muhammed el-Sadi, captioning it “Muslims on Joseph”. Hours later, he said that Malta “[celebrates] the end of Muslim Ramadan but not that of Christian Randan” – the Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of the holy month of fasting where food and water are all banned until after sunset.

Frank Portelli channels Oscar Wilde

Portelli believes that “patriotism” is the PN's route to victory. Sharing MaltaToday’s report of his comments, Portelli channeled the celebrated playwright Oscar Wilde and commented, “There's one thing worse than being talked about ... that's not being talked about”.

The PN has disassociated itself from Frank Portelli’s comments

The PN insisted that it was against discrimination on grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation. “Any comments that may fan homophobic sentiments go against the party’s beliefs.”

The PN went on to remind that, even during the leadership election campaign, all candidates must remember that a leader should uphold the values and principles as written down in the party’s statute.