A former Labour Party candidate sparked outrage on social media yesterday after posting a comment wishing a Somali migrant had kidnapped Cecilia Malmström instead of another Swedish politician.
Alfred Grima, who once served as a local councillor at St Paul’s Bay and contested the general election on the Labour ticket, made the remark on his personal Facebook account attached to a World News Times of Malta story about the incident.
The article described a botched kidnap attempt in Sweden in which two women were wounded and two men killed earlier this week.
Mr Grima had shared the story on his account commenting: “It’s a shame it wasn’t you Cecilia Malmström.”
He later apologised through another Facebook post. “I reflected and I feel I went too far. I publicly apologise to her,” he said. Asked about the anti-migrant nature of other comments on his account, Mr Grima denied harbouring any such sentiments.
“I am definitely not anti-Islam, however, I disagree with extremism,” he said.
Among the comments posted on his personal account in the past week was: “Where do all these illegal migrants (rejects) get all their money?”
Another, attached to a story carried by The Sunday Times of Malta about an orphaned migrant who left Somalia in search of his missing parents, stated: “What a load of rubbish.”
The Nationalist Party condemned Mr Grima’s comments, describing them as “deplorable” and “the worst type for politics”.
In a statement, the PN said Mr Grima’s comments were the direct result of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s migration policies. “The way Dr Muscat is addressing the migration issue is spreading xenophobia and racism across the country,” it said.
Reacting to the PN’s statement, a government spokesman also deplored the comments.
The spokesman said the Government was taking concrete action on migration after years of indecision by the previous Administration.
“These sentiments are the fruit of years of inaction by the previous government and not a result of this Government’s policies,” the spokesman said.
The PN called for disciplinary action to be taken by the Government against Mr Grima, insisting public apologies were not enough.
“Dr Muscat should take the necessary measures against Mr Grima and anyone else who uses similar language. If he does not, then he will be confirming that anything goes by him,” the PN said.
The Labour Party said it did not accept such talk, adding that, “therefore, the appropriate measures will be taken”.