Both declarations of former Sliema mayor, Joanna Gonzi, and former PN Sliema councillor, Julian Galea, have caused consternation among GonziPN voters as well as great anger among Labour Party voters.

The language used by both GonziPN ex-councillors in the Sliema local council was grossly offensive and ill-befits people who had been entrusted with the responsibility of running the local council of Sliema.

While to date I have not heard any reaction or apology from Dr Gonzi, Mr Galea issued what I term as a damage-limitation apology after being pressured by GonziPN to do so.

In both cases, an apology based more on convenience than of conviction is definitely not enough. The apology should have come instantaneously from the Prime Minister. It should also have been followed by Mr Galea’s removal from the list of candidates for the Sliema election. And if Dr Gonzi intends to stand as a GonziPN candidate for the general election, she should also be told to withdraw her candidature.

At the time of writing, not a word was said by Lawrence Gonzi about the said shocking declarations. I am waiting to see whether he has enough moral strength to rise above partisan considerations and do what any serious political party leader would do in similar circumstances.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.