Tide turns against Cospicua mayor

Cospicua mayor Paul Muscat is expected to face a vote of no confidence from Labour councillors today, unless he resigns by noon.

The development, which means that the MLP's councillors have done a U-turn, is understood to be the result of pressure by the Labour Party, whose officials have had meetings with the Labour councillors over the past few days.

Mr Muscat, who was elected as a Labour councillor, has been estranged from the party ever since its Vigilance and Disciplinary Board two years ago investigated allegations that he had tampered with the party vote which elected Alfred Sant as leader in 1992.

The tampering claim had been made by former Labour minister and leadership contender Lino Spiteri, who said Mr Muscat had admitted he had tampered with the leadership ballot votes.

The board was asked to investigate the matter by Dr Sant.

Mr Muscat had told the board he had made up the tampering story which, he told the board, he had used first to upset Mr Spiteri and subsequently in an attempt to have Dr Sant removed after he had, as prime minister, introduced tough budgetary measures in 1998.

The vigilance board had decided that no vote tampering had taken place and barred Mr Muscat from representing the party in any capacity. Mr Muscat was also banned from being a party delegate and could not sit on any of the party's committees.

The MLP has since been putting pressure on Mr Muscat to step down as mayor of Cospicua, Labour's heartland, which returned Mr Muscat and the five Labour councillors on the council, where there is only one Nationalist member.

In one of its meetings at the MLP headquarters in October 2000, the vigilance board had grilled Mr Muscat about why he was making statements that he would remain mayor as long as the people of Cospicua supported him. It wanted to know whether he would step down if he was asked to do so by the party. The members of the vigilance board also wanted to know what he would do if the other councillors voted against him.

MLP officials had spoken to the other party councillors, telling them to look for a new mayor, but their defiant reply was that their mayor was Paul Muscat and he would remain so.

The tide has now turned against Mr Muscat and the five Labour councillors have been persuaded to withdraw their support for him.

The reason now being given for Mr Muscat's removal as mayor is that it is in the best interests of the party.

Some in Cospicua are astounded by the back stabbing, and are arguing that Mr Muscat has been betrayed by his colleagues.

When the vote rigging claim broke out, Cospicua residents had feared that Mr Muscat might be forced to stand down and a petition against his removal was signed by some 1,000 people. It was never presented to the MLP administration as no formal moves were made to remove him.

The MLP councillors had at the time also written to party general secretary Jimmy Magro, warning him that if they were asked to force Mr Muscat out, they would would turn independent.

Sources said that some of the MLP councillors had now been told by the MLP that they too could face the party's vigilance board and could be dismissed from the party if they did not move a vote of no confidence in Mr Muscat, unless he resigned.

None of the councillors contacted yesterday was willing to comment on the record about the matter.

"Wait for tomorrow's meeting. We shall speak after that," was all they would say.

Mr Muscat, who is still known to be a staunch Labour Party supporter, is not liked by some in the upper echelons of the party because of his outspokenness.

But contacted yesterday, he too said he could not comment at this stage.