‘Disgusted’ PN councillor considers resignation

Sliema Nationalist councillor Sandra Camilleri is considering resigning from the party claiming general secretary Paul Borg Olivier “forced” her to sign a motion of no confidence in mayor Nikki Dimech.

“It was terrible. I was shocked and very disgusted,” the 63-year-old said after she had just been summoned to the police headquarters for questioning on Tuesday.

“I was born a Nationalist and will die a Nationalist but I will not be threatened. I am thinking of resigning but I’d rather they kick me out. I feel this is very unfair. It’s a political issue.”

She said she met Dr Borg Olivier and his aide Jean Pierre Debono at Lady Di pub in Sliema last Friday, adding they “forced” her to sign the motion, even though she did not want to, after she missed a meeting held at the PN headquarters the day before to discuss the issue. Ms Camilleri said she could not attend the meeting because she was in Gozo.

She was asked to sign the motion after Mr Dimech refused to resign from his position following allegations he had admitted to take a bribe from a contractor. When press reports appeared about this, the PN decided to kick him out of the party after he vowed to stay on.

Ms Camilleri is convinced Mr Dimech is innocent and that this is a political issue because the party wants to get rid of Mr Dimech.

Describing the young mayor as “very generous” and “kind”, Ms Camilleri said she did not want to sign the motion because nothing against him had yet been proven in court. The only thing to go by was a report carried in the press.

Ms Camilleri said yesterday she went to the police headquarters for a meeting, which she described as “very friendly”. She would not go into the details of what was discussed but said she never broke any party rules or the Constitution.

Contacted about Ms Camilleri’s allegations, a spokesman for Dr Borg Olivier – who is on holiday in Gozo – said there was nothing to add to the statements made in the past days. In those statements the party spoke about the vote of no confidence and announced it was dismissing Mr Dimech from the party.

Party sources said that, in view of information on the case of Mr Dimech furnished by Ms Camilleri during their meeting in Sliema, Dr Borg Olivier informed her that he would relay such information to the police, which he did soon after the meeting.

Motion of no confidence postponed till September

Meanwhile, PN sources said the motion of no confidence, which should have been decided this week, might have to be postponed by two weeks because with one of its councillors on holiday, the party ran the risk of ending up without the majority it needed to oust him.

Although the party wants the motion to be tabled as soon as possible, it is now in a dilemma because the PN may not have a majority in Sliema, a traditional stronghold of the party.

The council has seven PN councillors, excluding Mr Dimech. However, councillor Patrick Pace will be abroad until August 31 and Ms Camilleri is very likely not to vote in favour of the motion. This could leave the PN with only five confirmed voters on its side.

If the Labour Party’s three councillors do not support the motion, Mr Dimech will have the casting vote and the party’s motion would be doomed to fail.

When questioned, the PL said only that its councillors would vote “in a compact and conscientious manner”.

The decision to postpone the motion of no confidence means that the council, which has been at a standstill for two months, will continue to be in limbo.

Mr Dimech has called a “business as usual” meeting for August 25, sources said.