Sant pays tribute to Mintoff

Alfred Sant yesterday paid tribute to Dom Mintoff while he was referring to the significance of Freedom Day, saying the former premier had been instrumental in reaching that stage of Malta's history.

Dr Sant was speaking at a dialogue meeting in Luqa.

Relations between the two have been cold, with many Labour supporters holding Mr Mintoff responsible for the collapse of Dr Sant's government in 1998 and Mr Mintoff insisting that Dr Sant had called him a traitor.

Mr Mintoff had told a meeting in Fgura on Monday that it was time to "forgive and forget" and work together to bring the Labour Party's "lost sheep" back to the fold.

At the meeting in Luqa, the opposition leader also said that a new Labour government would keep hunting and trapping regulations as they were in December 2002.