As local council members resign, PL says PN’s internal problems have reached local level
● PN says St Paul’s Bay Local Council has been in stalemate for months
The Labour Party insists that the problems plaguing the Nationalist Party have now reached the local council level after the resignation of St Paul’s Bay councillors David Thake and Robert Piscopo.
Thake resigned from deputy mayor some weeks ago, saying that Adrian Delia was not the ‘credible’ leader the PN needed. In a statement yesterday, the PL noted that another PN councillor, Robert Piscopo, had now resigned. “His resignation as a councillor from the PN technically means that the PN lost the majority in the local council, so much so that they are losing one vote after another,“the PL said.
“In a locality where the lack of serious leadership was being felt, this resignation continues to complicate the situation.” The PL said citizens deserved stable local councils focused on improving citizens’ lives.
On Facebook, Piscopo announced he was resigning from the PN and staying on as an independent councillor. He blamed mayor Graziella Galea. “As most of you may already know, the present Nationalist mayor has made member collaboration virtually impossible, and this despite various attempts on my part and from other sources to redress the situation. With the resignation of David Thake, I was next in line to be appointed Deputy Mayor of St. Pauls Bay. There is no political title that can pigeonhole a strong character into sitting quietly doing nothing.
“Genuine politics is about acting what you believe in, hands on, irrespective of the title or the ‘cover’ which some may choose to use. That is why I believe I may be of better service acting independently from the Nationalist Party.”
In a press conference later yesterday morning, PN spokesman on local councils Robert Cutajar said that the St Paul’s Bay local council had been in a stalemate for months as certain council members were failing to vote in line with their PN colleagues. He said that there were two individuals, Joseph Vella and Robert Piscopo who were stalling the votes. In particular, Cutajar mentioned how during this week’s session, Piscopo and Vella voted against measures “aimed to help the residents of the locality.”
Among the measures, the council was in process of employing two new employees. “Yesterday Piscopo voted against the PN, with the PL councillors. For months, now, these individuals have been asking for the resignation of Mayor Graziella Galea.”
Cutajar said that he personally spoke with leader Adrian Delia and told him “no one is bigger than the party.”
Cutajar, accompanied by Pierre Portelli who represents the College of Local Councils of the PN, said that the PN was meant to launch an internal consultation process on the working of the local councils. The consultation process will be discussing, among other things, the Vote 16. The PN will eventually present the consultation document to the government by end of January.
When asked whether he was approached by Piscopo and Vella to discuss possible problems in the council, Cutajar said that he met them individually and as a council.
“We discussed major issues and most of them were solved. We need to see that every council member is in line with the party. The priority still remains the residents.”
Robert Piscopo later replied to Cutajar’s press conference. Piscopo asked why the party would consider this resignation as a form of threat if there had been issues in the council for months.
“The real issue is: how can the Party take note of the problems encountered within the council when the same mayor and her father are part of the party’s executive?
“A real leader would take in stride constructive criticism especially since it is aimed to improve a situation which in the locality of Saint Paul’s Bay is well known. The Party is made up of members. If the harmony and stability of the Party is undermined so is the leadership. Sincerely hope this will not prove to be the case.”
Mayor’s reaction
St Paul’s Bay Mayor Graziella Galea finally spoke about the issue in the local council in a Facebook post late yesterday evening. She said that Robert Piscopo had, from the very beginning, shown that he did not want to work with her as mayor. “This same council member has failed to attend almost half of the meetings,” she said.
She then made reference to Joseph Vella, another rebel councilor, and said that he used to use inappropriate language during certain meetings. “It’s a pity that there are those who look after their partisan gains before the needs of the residents.”
Galea noted that a lot of council meetings had to be cancelled because of the lack of attendance.