Former Housing Authority chairperson Marisa Micallef in sensational cross-over to Labour as Joseph Muscat’s new press officer
Marisa Micallef (formerly Micallef Leyson), the darling of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and a heavyweight within Nationalist circles, will be the official spokesperson of Labour leader Joseph Muscat in a move that is likely to shock the PN establishment.
Marisa Micallef is more than just a prototype Nationalist supporter. The former PN candidate and politically-appointed Housing Authority chairman was very close to Gonzi – whom she actively backed in his 2003 leadership bid against John Dalli – and had previously contested national elections with the Nationalist Party on the 9th district.
However, she is understood to have recently fallen out with Education Minister Dolores Cristina, and in recent contributions to the press has been scathing about the present administration of government.
On a political level, Muscat will score abundant brownie points for his latest star acquisition; but Micallef does not come without a hefty price-tag. In her last term as Housing Authority chairman, she negotiated a handsome pay package in contrast to her former wage, which she constantly described as paltry. Her latest move to Labour will cost the party a figure rumoured to hover around 40K. In return, Muscat will also neutralise at least one former vocal critic of Labour in the English language press. As a columnist for the Malta Independent, Marisa Micallef relentlessly pounded both Labour and Alternattiva Demokratika for years (though she consistently reminded her readers that she had worked in a Labour council in Britain), and was described as a “cheerleader” for Lawrence Gonzi.
By crossing the divide, Micallef has also exposed cracks in the Nationalist Party traditionally conservative identity. Marisa is also the niece of John Micallef: long-time anonymous author of the Sunday Times’ Roamer’s Column, known for its arch-conservatism, pro-Church stance and vitriolic anti-Labour sentiment.
Her change in allegiance is likely to be interpreted as a signal that the Nationalist Party is no longer considered the natural home of the middle-class liberal voter: many of whom traditionally feel “safe” within the PN, on account of Labour’s violent past in the 1970s and 1980s, and more recently its aggressive euro-scepticism under Alfred Sant.
Meanwhile, Micallef’s switch to Labour is known within the PN HQ, which – typical of the Nationalist spin machine – has officially kept quiet about it... though unofficially, rumours are already rife about the new Labour spokesperson’s lifestyle.
A separated woman with one child, Micallef is an outspoken liberal who criticised Gonzi over his proposal to entrench the abortion law into the Constitution, among other conservative initiatives. She is also in favour of divorce, in sharp contrast with her active participation with the PN.
But many within the party consider her to be an opportunist and a schemer.
Ironically, Marisa Micallef’s appointment is being also viewed with some trepidation by Labour insiders. They cannot imagine how the refined English speaking Marisa Micallef will fit into the Labour milieu.
But then again, everything is possible in politics.
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