Updated 7.40pm - Added Salvu Mallia comments
Graffiti hurling insults at Partit Demokratiku leader Marlene Farrugia and Nationalist Party candidate Salvu Mallia has been sprayed on the rocks around St Elmo in Valletta.
Dr Farrugia and the controversial TV presenter/candidate were singled out for special derision through what has been described as irreversible spray.
A heritage enthusiast told Times of Malta that the rock-cut face was formed most likely during either the 17th-century Grunenberg fortification extension of St Elmo or during the construction of the breakwater.
He said that aerosol spray paint on limestone is virtually impossible to remove completely from globigerina limestone due to its porosity. Similar acts of vandalism have blighted Ħagar Qim, Mnajdra and Mdina Cathedral in recent years.
'I will lay flowers' - Mallia
Speaking during an evening public forum, Mr Mallia suggested vandals were out to intimidate. "They know how much I love the environment," he said, adding that he would respond to the act of vandalism by laying flowers by Fort St Elmo tomorrow.