PN councillors object to new association secretary

Nationalist Party councillors are objecting after the man who served as Labour Party general secretary for 12 years, Jimmy Magro, was elected as the secretary of the Local Councils Association.

Mr Magro was elected by the four Labour Party members of the association last month. His appointment takes effect immediately but he has not yet taken up the post.

The three Nationalist Party members of the seven-member executive committee of the Local Councils Association abstained, in protest at the nomination of a candidate with so much political baggage. Association vice president for international affairs, Ian Micallef, told The Times that the PN members were not opposed to a secretary with Labour Party sympathies, but to Mr Magro in particular because he had been so heavily involved with the MLP.

"How can Nationalist councillors be expected to work with a man who spent so many years criticising their performance," he said.

Dr Micallef, who was president of the association until Labour gained the majority last October, said he had proposed an alternative candidate who had not been so involved in politics but nonetheless possessed administrative and management capabilities. However, his proposal was rejected.

Mr Magro had stepped down as general secretary after Labour's election defeat in 2003, claiming in an interview that he, along with a few others, had been made scapegoats by the party. He attempted to stand as an MEP the following year but was not selected by the party and has since drifted into the political wilderness.