Jason Micallef threatened to quit party post after PM’s Ta’ Qali remarks
But he never sent an official resignation letter to the party’s administration, sources say
Jason Micallef threatened to resign as Labour Party ‘special delegate’ after the prime minister admitted the government “could have done better” over the decision to lay gravel on the Ta’ Qali picnic area, where the grass has failed to regrow.
Senior party sources, however, said that while Micallef was upset and was threatening to resign “in the heat of the moment”, he never sent an official resignation letter to the party’s administration.
“Since then, Jason has continued to perform duties related to that role,” a senior figure in the party administration said.
Micallef declined to comment when approached by Times of Malta.
Labour sources told Times of Malta that Micallef felt “he had been thrown under the bus” by Prime Minister Robert Abela during an interview last Sunday.
“He’s clearly angry and has been telling people he will resign from his role as special delegate,” one official said.
Micallef, who heads the Ta’ Qali national park, is also the Labour Party’s special delegate for the implementation of the electoral manifesto.
Micallef also has other paid government jobs, including that of chairperson of the Valletta Cultural Agency.
On Sunday, when answering questions about the Ta’ Qali picnic area, Abela said: “We have to be honest with people – it could be better. We have appointed a local expert, who advised us that while grass will not grow for now, it will in future with some intervention,” Abela said.
The area – which is usually lush with green grass at this time of year – remains barren following the placing of gravel in the area which cost taxpayers €311,000 following a direct order.
As controversy over the gravel mounted, Micallef insisted the grass would grow once the rainy season started. However, those assurances, made in November, have proven inaccurate, as the island experienced significant rainfall throughout December and January.
Despite acknowledging shortcomings with the picnic area, Abela had words of praise for Micallef, saying he and his team had done “great work” with the national park as a whole, adding that Ta’ Qali is Malta’s most beautiful park.
Still, those words of praise were not enough to placate Micallef, who was appointed Labour’s special delegate following the European and local council elections in the summer of 2024.
Many had seen Micallef’s party appointment as an attempt to placate the outspoken Labour voice, after he dropped out of the race for deputy leader for party affairs.