Joseph and Jason in ‘reconciliation’ Waterfront lunch
Julia Farrugia
Labour Party leader Dr Joseph Muscat and former PL secretary-general Jason Micallef met on Wednesday 20 January for a ‘reconciliation’ lunch at the Valletta Waterfront, this paper can reveal.
Witnesses confirm that Muscat and Micallef were both spotted getting out of a blue BMW driven by Ronnie Pellegrini, who accompanied them into one of the Waterfront’s restaurants at around noon.
It is understood that during this meeting, Pellegrini acted as a middleman between Micallef and Muscat, whose relationship soured deeply during summer 2009.
Ronnie Pellegrini was always considered as the party activist with the strongest ties to the former PL secretary-general: a post from which Jason Micallef stepped down in October 2009, to take up the position of Chairman at ONE Productions.
Until a few days ago, a cold front was still felt amongst Labour delegates closely connected to Micallef and the current PL administration.
Joseph Muscat’s meeting with Micallef could be interpreted as a first step towards an appeasement process to mitigate this scenario.
Micallef’s speech on Friday in fact offered indications of a possible rapprochement with Muscat.
“I understood that loyalty towards the party was stronger than an individual’s pain and above the personal interests of anybody, including that of any leader, past, present or future,” Micallef said on Friday.
MaltaToday can confirm that the reconciliation meeting between Joseph Muscat and Jason Micallef was around noon the preceding Wednesday, at a lunch, attended also by Pellegrini, at one of the Waterfront’s restaurants.
Part of the intention behind this meeting was to encourage Jason Micallef to take the floor during the National Conference last Friday. It is still not clear, however, whether this meeting itself was Joseph Muscat’s initiative or otherwise.
“Micallef’s speech did manage to instil a positive aura amongst the delegates. The past is the past, and this can only be the beginning of a fresh page within the Labour Party,” said a confident young PL delegate when contacted yesterday.
However, a fine thread of scepticism still lingers amongst others.
“The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I prefer to simply wait and let time unfold,” said one of the most senior party delegates.
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