A Sliema Nationalist councillor who said he had a phobia of Labourites and claimed he paid them less than their Nationalist co-workers yesterday apologised for his remarks but refused to pull out of Saturday’s election.
I have many PL friends. They called to support me and wanted to speak out
Julian Galea, the only PN candidate contesting the election from the disgraced and dissolved Sliema council – said his remarks were wrong and did not reflect his or his party’s beliefs.
The 30-year-old who owns and runs a catering establishment in Valletta, was secretly recorded during an informal council meeting saying he could not stand Labourites and had a phobia of them.
During the recorded conversation, aired on Friday evening during One News, Mr Galea is heard saying that if a girl hadto tell him she was a Labourite, he would discard her.
Mr Galea is also heard saying that at his place of work, Labourite employees are paid less than the Nationalists.
Contacted yesterday morning, Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier said Mr Galea’s comments were “totally unacceptable” and that the party had demanded a public apology from him on the matter.
Later, a party spokesman officially replied to The Sunday Times, saying Mr Galea’s “demeaning” comments “were not worthy of the respect any PN councillor or candidate should have towards others, even if they do not share his political views”.
The question surrounding whether Mr Galea would still be allowed to stand on the PN ticket for Saturday’s election remained unanswered. When contacted, Mr Galea replied “of course” when asked whether he would be still contesting the election.
A few hours after being asked to do so, Mr Galea apologised on his Facebook page, saying his comments did not reflect the way he managed his business.
“My employees can vouch for this because they know that at the workplace and during recruitment, I never used, influenced myself with, or in any way acted on the basis of the individual’s political beliefs,” he said.
“My comments were wrong and do not reflect what I believe in. I apologise publicly for these wrong comments.”
In reply to Facebook comments praising him for his gentlemanly behaviour by apologising for a mistake, Mr Galea said the recording was “not legal” and that he was “joking” when it was recorded.
“I have many PL friends and I respect them as I have always done and will always do. They called to support me and wanted to speak out,” he said.
Mr Galea’s secretly-recorded comments come hot on the heels of another secret recording during which former PN mayor Johanna Gonzi allegedly said: “I want them dead, all of them.” It is not yet known who she was referring to.