Candidates contesting the European Parliament elections are sweating it out to find new ways of promoting themselves but while the going may be tough for some for others like Vince Farrugia it may be an easier route to Brussels.
At the end of a press conference last Monday, where the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU unveiled its proposals on the Rent Reform Bill, an employee of the organisation handed out Mr Farrugia's electoral business cards to those present.
Even if Mr Farrugia enjoys the official endorsement of the GRTU, for the organisation's president, Paul Abela, distributing the business cards was "out of place".
"Next time, I will see that such a thing is not conducted on the premises but Vince enjoys the organisation's endorsement and he broke no rules. He probably was not aware of the action," Mr Abela said.
He insisted that Mr Farrugia was the GRTU's man for Europe.
"We did not endorse the Nationalist Party. We endorsed Vince Farrugia's candidature and I can assure you that if Vince feels something is going to harm small and medium businesses, neither the PN nor the Prime Minister will stop him from expressing his views," Mr Abela said.
Contacted afterwards, Mr Farrugia insisted he did not run his personal campaign from the GRTU's offices.
"I have my own campaign office and I insist that a distinction be made between my role as director general and an MEP candidate. At the end of the conference there were two members who asked me for my business cards and since I was rushing out of the premises I asked one of the employees to give them a card. If she distributed them to everyone present it was a genuine mistake. It is definitely not part of an organised campaign," Mr Farrugia said.
Justifying his presence at the press conference, Mr Farrugia said he would continue appearing on behalf of the GRTU on the technical issues he had been involved with prior to taking his political decision.
"Issues such as rent reform, water and electricity tariffs and public transport in Gozo require technical expertise and, since I was there from the beginning of these reforms, I will continue being the GRTU's public face when these issues are tackled. In other areas, I am keeping a low profile as promised," Mr Farrugia insisted.
The business cards were fresh off the printing press and tellingly they did not have the PN's logo on them.
Along with the slogan Your Strong Voice In Europe, the business cards included a picture of a smiling Mr Farrugia. Beneath his picture, the Maltese flag with the words Partit Nazzjonalista written in very fine print together with the logo of the European People's Party.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com