A statue of Dom Mintoff is to be erected at Castille Place later this year as the government again reverses its plans for the monument to the fiery former prime minister.
Last year, the government ditched a plan to erect a statue of Mr Mintoff in the Valletta square and decided to have an abstract memorial done instead. It has now decided to go back to the statue idea, which will cost about €70,000, according to sources.
The statue will not, however, be the one designed by renowned artist Alfred Camilleri Cauchi (see above), which was selected in 2013 after it won a Heritage Malta competition. Instead, a new call for proposals has been launched through Heritage Malta, and the selection is expected to be announced later this month.
Government sources told this newspaper that the decision taken by the Office of the Prime Minster last year not to have a statue did not go down well with Mr Mintoff’s family or Labour’s core supporters.
The bronze statue will be inaugurated on August 6 – the late prime minister’s 100th birthday.
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