Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo does not regret backing Nikki Dimech at the 2009 Sliema council election, even though the mayor has been dismissed by his party.
The 33-year-old mayor, an accountant and auditor by profession, was kicked out on Thursday after refusing to resign, following his release of a police statement the previous day admitting he solicited commissions from a contractor.
But the popular Sliema MP Mr Arrigo said he had no qualms about backing Mr Dimech in the 2009 election, which saw him obtaining 1,800 first count votes.
"I backed him very openly and I'm not shy to say it because I could see he had good qualities for the post. I do not regret it because I did it as a friend. But after the election,
without a clash, we went our separate ways and did not remain so close," Mr Arrigo said yesterday when contacted.
He said he backed him "wholeheartedly" on the basis of his three year experience in the previous council, when Mr Arrigo's wife, Marina, was serving as mayor.
Contacted yesterday, Mr Dimech said he preferred not to comment on the case at this stage following legal advice from his lawyers.
However, he vowed to continue serving on the Sliema council as an independent councillor.
Mr Dimech spent six hours in police custody on Wednesday during which he confessed to soliciting a commission from a contractor in return for the latter's appointment as the council's contracts manager.
The issue came to light after the contractor's agreement was terminated after six months. The contractor told the police he was sacked when he refused to pay the commission. But police sources said MrDimech denied ever actually receiving any commission from the contractor.
The contractor in question, Stephen Buhagiar, was a former driver of Mr Arrigo at his company - Robert Arrigo and Sons Ltd. He quit that job in the middle of last year, two months after the local council elections, which saw Mr Dimech being elected mayor.
He won the tender to work as a contracts manager for the Sliema council but was let go towards the end of his six-month probation, sources said.
In a statement to the police, the Sliema mayor claimed he was helping Mr Buhagiar because the contractor had assisted him prior to the council election and had previously also helped the Nationalist MP.
Mr Arrigo denied Mr Dimech's claim.
"I never put any pressure on Nikki (Dimech) to favour any of my constituents, many of whom became his too. I never put any pressure on anybody," he said firmly.
Asked for his position on Mr Dimech now that the Nationalist Party had dismissed him, Mr Arrigo said his position was "the same as that adopted by the party".
Problems at the Sliema local council had been brewing for a number of months and
reached their peak when an investigation by the Department of Local Government was referred to the Internal Audit and Investigations Department within the Prime Minister's Office, which is looking into allegations of mismanagement of public funds.
One particular project being investigated is the extension of a tender to install fairy lights on every tree along the Sliema promenade, an idea spawned by Mr Dimech. The department's investigation is still under way.
Mr Dimech was dismissed from the party after he refused to resign. PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier said the party expected high ethical standards from anyone elected on its ticket.