News | Sunday, 29 March 2009

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Tit for Tat

Tonio Fenech and Dolores Cristina are the two ministers reported to the police yesterday, as Joseph Muscat and Frank Portelli exchange allegations

MaltaToday can confirm from police sources that the two Cabinet ministers reported by Opposition leader Joseph Muscat to the police yesterday, over “serious declarations” connected with the St John’s Co-Cathedral project, are Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Education Minister Dolores Cristina.
Muscat supplied Police Commissioner John Rizzo with details of a meeting of the PN parliamentary group, held on 31 January 2009, in which he alleged that one of the two Nationalist ministers – whom he did not name in public – had hinted at “undue pressure” on public officials to have the controversial museum extension project approved.
According to Muscat’s allegation the other minister stated that European funding for the controversial St John’s Co-Cathedral project had been forthcoming only “because there was someone who knew how to play the game”: a statement widely interpreted to refer to Malta’s permanent ambassador to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana, who also sits on the board of the Cathedral Foundation. Muscat described these two alleged declarations as “serious”, and requested the Commissioner to investigate them as he deems fit.
Police sources informed this newspaper that Muscat gave Rizzo the names of Fenech and Cristina, although it is not known with certainty which comment was allegedly made by Fenech, and which by Cristina.
Of the two allegations, the one about “undue pressure” on public officials to approve the project is by far the more serious: calling to mind similar allegations made in connection with the Spin Valley Disco issue in Mistra, involving Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

Exchanging allegations
Muscat’s accusations come in the wake of similar insinuations levelled against unnamed Labour MPs by Frank Portelli, the Nationalist candidate for the European elections, who claims to be “reliably informed” that two senior members of the Labour party are under internal investigations “for actions that fall under criminal law”.
Portelli posted his allegation on his MEP’s Facebook profile, where he said an internal discussion in the Labour executive took place last Tuesday, 24 March.
But PL secretary-general Jason Micallef has denied this meeting ever took place.
“It is a blatant lie. The executive committee last met some three weeks ago, so there was no meeting in three weeks.”
Unprompted, Micallef mentioned ‘drugs’ as basis of the suspicious allegation hinted at by Portelli.
“I challenge him to say who he is referring to. There was no meeting and I don’t know of any MPs being investigated on drugs,” Micallef said – without being asked specifically what the allegations were.
Later he qualified his statement by saying that other journalists had already asked him about the drug allegations.
Asked whether the party is concerned about any Labour MPs that Portelli might be hinting at, Micallef said the MEP candidate should come forward and state who they are.
“I don’t know what people do in their private lives. I don’t know of anyone Portelli might be talking about. What is certain is that I don’t think this is very much in Portelli’s style,” Micallef said.
Racy stories on MPs and their lurid private lives have always been rife, but it is the first time that a political candidate stakes such a bold claim against a rival party.
Portelli is adamant that the PL is concerned about two of its senior members over allegedly criminal behaviour.
Writing on his Facebook profile, Portelli said: “The Maltese people have a right to know what is going on. The leader of the Labour Party needs to be frank with the Maltese people.”
Portelli, a former Nationalist MP and former party president, was only recently asked by the PN to contest the MEP elections in a bid to secure disgruntled voters.
Today he addresses the PN’s general council in a six-minute speech, but it is not sure whether he will be taking Labour leader Joseph Muscat to task with his allegations; or whether he will accept Micallef’s challenge to name the alleged suspect MPs.

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