Labour party tried to stop Reno Calleja from attending Xarabank

Former Labour minister Reno Calleja was asked not to attend Xarabank, the Friday-night chat show PBS, fearing that his comments on Libya would reflect negatively on the party.

The disgraced former minister had been removed by Prime Minister Dom Mintoff and is renowned for his controversial comments on China and Libya: in 1989 during the crackdown on protestors in Tienanmen square, Reno Calleja praised China. Calleja also happens to be the president of the Malta-China friendship society.

MaltaToday is informed that Calleja ignored the PL's request, going ahead to attend the programme.

Calleja himself is criticised for being too critical of Labour itself. Earlier the PL had issued as a statement disassociating itself from a comment placed by Reno Calleja in the comments board of an online newspaper, in which he criticised a declaration made last Sunday by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi that the end of the Gaddafi government "was inevitable".

A party spokesman told MaltaToday: “The party has no intention of getting embroiled in a controversy over Libya, our stand is clear – we share the same national interests, Reno Calleja does not represent the party’s views in any way.”

The Labour party has been unusually careful in not sending the wrong message on Libya, given its long history with the Gaddafi regime during its time in government. But the PL is now worried over its image and there is a strong attempt in not dragging any of its representatives in unnecessary debate on the matter.

But after former Nationalist minister John Dalli’s  astonishing comments on Gaddafi, it is highly unlikely that the limelight will turn to Labour on Libya.