Musumeci says he wants to heal the political rift
'I could not vote against the motion'
Siġġiewi mayor Robert Musumeci says it is his "moral and political responsibility" to heal the rift caused by the Nationalist-led council motion requesting the government not to renew the lease of the village's Labour Party club.
Visibly uncomfortable with the events that unfolded last week, Mr Musumeci says that even though he voted in favour of the motion he did not want to hinder the operation of the Labour Party in the village.
The motion was presented by his deputy, Karol Aquilina, and was approved after all the Nationalist councillors, including Mr Musumeci, voted in favour.
"The Labour councillors in this village make an important contribution and I do not want to be the person who in any way hinders the work of the PL," Mr Musumeci says in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Dr Aquilina presented a motion asking the government not to renew the lease on the property occupied by the PL club when this expires next June. The motion called for the property, a large house on the main square, to be transferred to the local council for use as a day care centre.
The government said it would not be renewing the lease, which effectively deprives the PL of its club. The club had been leased to the PL on the eve of the 1981 general election, and the agreement renewed for 24 years just months before the 1987 election.
The Labour Party has lodged a complaint with the Data Protection Commissioner claim-ing that confidential inform-ation held by the government had been passed on to Dr Aquilina.
Denying any knowledge of the details pertaining to the lease agreement between the Land Department and the PL, Mr Musumeci says that when the motion was presented before him its content was politically valid.
"I could not vote against the motion but I cannot ignore the repercussions it created. It is my moral and political responsibility as mayor to try and fix the problem within my limitations. I do not want to have Labour exponents in this locality who cannot function," he says, insisting that he would be the first to help the PL find a transitory site to continue operating.
When asked if he had been approached to contest on the Labour Party's behalf, Mr Musumeci says: "It is not the case. I militate in the PN and the PL understands that I have a role to play in the PN. It is too far-fetched and I have not had this request."
See also today's interview.