Almost two months before polling day, Labour MEP Joseph Cuschieri is not yet on his party’s official list as a candidate.
His omission from Labour’s candidates’ list is fuelling speculation that the 46-year-old MEP is pushing for assurances from party leader Joseph Muscat that he will be given a push to be re-elected to the Brussels chamber.
Sources in the Labour Party described Mr Cuschieri’s position as “ambiguous” and his absence from the list is being interpreted as a clear sign of trouble brewing between the MEP and the top party brass.
“Mr Cuschieri is holding off from declaring his candidacy to pressure the Prime Minister to make some assurances on his political future,” the sources said.
Mr Cuschieri still claims with the party’s rank and file that Dr Muscat is somehow personally indebted to him for ceding his parliamentary seat in 2008 to enable the newly-elected Labour leader to be co-opted to Parliament, the sources said.
Asked by The Sunday Times of Malta to declare whether he will be contesting May’s election, Mr Cuschieri remained tight-lipped, saying he has no comments to make at this stage.
He also declined to comment on claims he is lobbying for his co-option to the Maltese Parliament following the vacancy to be created by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca’s nomination to the presidency. Labour Party officials confirmed Mr Cuschieri is putting pressure on party officials and has been openly critical of the party for allowing certain candidates to stand, particularly Cyrus Engerer whom he allegedly accused of being a diehard “until a few months ago”.
Mr Engerer hails from Sliema, the constituency in which Mr Cuschieri is most popular among Labour voters.
Questions sent to the Labour Party to declare Mr Cuschieri’s position remained unanswered, despite several reminders.
Meanwhile, Claudette Abela Baldacchino, who has served as MEP since last year following the resignation of Louis Grech, will not be contesting the election.
Asked whether the decision not to run for office was forced by the party, due to an ongoing court case, the former Qrendi deputy mayor declined to comment.
In 2012, Ms Abela Baldacchino was accused in court together with other former local councillors of defrauding the European Commission in connection with travel expenses.
Though serving as an MEP for just under a year, an online ranking mechanism of parliamentarians describes Ms Abela Baldacchino as the most active among the four sitting Labour MEPs.
On his part, the longest serving Labour MEP John Attard Montalto will be calling it a day and retiring from politics.
The flamboyant former minister told The Sunday Times of Malta that “10 years of hard work and weekly travel” were more than enough.