News | Sunday, 30 August 2009

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Jason Micallef facing downsized role at Mile End

Labour secretary-general Jason Micallef’s job responsibilities are hanging on the line, this newspaper has learnt, as the party leadership wants to further “downsize” his role.
Micallef, believed to be part of the “gang of five” who lost Labour the 2008 election, managed to hold on to his job when he was re-elected by the party general conference.
But since then he has been undercut in his responsibilities by James Piscopo, hand-picked by leader Joseph Muscat to act as party chief executive.
Muscat has now expressed his concern within party quarters that ‘the Micallef problem’ must be resolved.
The move is reportedly a measure to control Micallef, who still enjoys some popularity among the party grassroots but is mistrusted by the leadership. Part of his hold on power is through the party media, which he regularly wines and dines at his favourite haunt.
Micallef even received a reprimand for employing reporter Rodney Vassallo for One News, without informing CEO James Piscopo.
On his end, Joseph Muscat uses loyalists Mark Farrugia and former maltastar.com journalist Kurt Farrugia as his enforcers on media and public relations.
Micallef and Piscopo were involved in a loud exchange of words over the employment of Rodney Vassallo, who happens to be the presenter of the Malta Football Association’s programme on Smash TV, ‘MFA Magazine’.
While relations between Muscat and Micallef are said to have reached an all-time low, Micallef yesterday downplayed MaltaToday’s questions, and laughed at the suggestion that his relations with Muscat were strained.
“If you read the papers you would see that Joseph and I are said to be concubines, that we get on like a house on fire,” Micallef pointed out with sarcasm.
Asked about the prospect of having his role curtailed and reduced to just party affairs, Micallef said it was news to him. He was also brief when asked about his relations with James Piscopo:
“James is the CEO and I am the secretary general. We both have our roles, and I believe we do our jobs in the best interest of the party.”
On his part, Piscopo told MaltaToday he preferred not to comment, insisting that he does not discuss internal issues outside the party.

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