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, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
A statue of Dom Mintoff will be placed in Castille Place later this year.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, 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.
The reasons for the latest twist, in what has become known among the artistic community as the Mintoff monument saga, are not yet clear.
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, who consider him a father figure.
“The OPM has finally given in to pressure from its hardcore supporters who were against having some abstract work of art instead of a statue of their revered leader,” a senior government official said. “It is also time to try and regroup the troops, as many Labour supporters are feeling very detached from Joseph Muscat’s government.”
The Sunday Times of Malta is informed that the bronze statue will be inaugurated on August 6 – the late prime minister’s 100th birthday.Questions sent to the OPM on its decision and the commissioning of the new statue were not answered by the time of going to print.
It is also time to try and regroup the troops, as many Labour supporters are feeling very detached from Joseph Muscat’s government
In what is being described by artists as an unprecedented move, those making submissions will be barred from making any contact with the media without permission from the government.
Last year, when the square in front of Castille was being given a facelift in preparation for the Commonwealth Summit, this newspaper revealed that the Mintoff statue planned for a central part of the square had been scrapped.
According to Mr Camilleri Cauchi, the controversial decision was taken by the government’s principal permanent secretary, Mario Cutajar, who did not like the design.
Mr Cutajar, a former aide to Mr Mintoff, told Mr Camilleri Cauchi that “Mr Mintoff’s posture looks too Communist”.
Although Mr Cutajar never replied to questions from this newspaper, he told PBS that Mr Camilleri Cauchi’s winning statue was disqualified because it was not original. He revealed that another artist had been commissioned to come up with a Mintoff memorial.
Valerio Schembri, an architect by profession, was given a direct order by the OPM and designed a five-metre-tall abstract piece of art in the form of a flame to replace the statue.
A full-size model was made, but it is not known what will happen to it now that the government has again changed plans.
The OPM did not reply to questions, including how much it had cost and if it would be installed somewhere else.