Former Ian Borg aide to contest election on second district

Rodrick Zerafa, a former journalist and aide to minister Ian Borg, is planning to contest the general election.

Labour sources said that Zerafa, who was appointed CEO of Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta last year, has started the groundwork for an electoral campaign in the second district.

Zerafa, 30, from Żabbar, will be hoping to use the locality as a base to get elected in a district that also includes the three cities, part of Fgura, Kalkara, part of Marsascala and Xgħajra.

One PL official said a strategy focusing on Żabbar could work because it is by far the district’s most populous town.

The combined total population of the second district is around 27,000. Żabbar alone has a population of some 17,000.

PL officials who spoke to Times of Malta said that Zerafa will also have the chance to exploit a gap in the district, as two veteran politicians – Chris Agius (Il-Wefi) and Joe Mizzi – are unlikely to contest in the district.

Zerafa has been regularly appearing on the Labour Party’s media. He has also been frequently posting on his social media page, showing himself speaking with and meeting residents from Żabbar – a clear sign of his intention to run in the upcoming election.

Before taking on the CEO role in May 2024, Zerafa served as Foreign Minister Ian Borg’s spokesperson after working at the Labour Party’s media arm, ONE.

Contacted for comment, Zerafa confirmed he has been approached by the party to contest but said he has not made a final decision.

“Such consequential decisions warrant thorough deliberation. I am currently focused on my role in the government. I will publicly clarify my position once I have reached a conclusion.”

The second district is a PL stronghold with four of the five parliamentary seats for the district usually going to Labour Party candidates. 

In the last election, five PL candidates who ran in the second district ended up in parliament after Finance Minister Clyde Caruana resigned his seat in the district and remained an MP for district 8.

The Labour MPs who kept their seats were Prime Minister Robert Abela, Chris Agius and parliamentary secretaries Alison Zerafa Civelli and Glenn Bedingfield, who was elected via a casual election.

“On paper, there are strong figures in that district but in practice, that’s not the case,” one senior PL official said.

“Of course, the prime minister doesn’t have time for constituency work, and Clyde Caruana’s style is to not get into personal requests in the district. So that just leaves the parliamentary secretaries in the district – and both are more focused on Cottonera rather than Żabbar,” they said.