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10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MARCH 2026 NEWS ism while breaking with the party's leadership, laying the groundwork for future collaboration with civil rights, environmental, and anti-corruption activists behind the launch of Alter- nattiva Demokratika in October 1989. EPISODE 3 1989: Expelled from Labour Party at the Rialto Conference In November 1989, the Labour Party convened a special conference at Ri- alto to vote on the expulsion of Wen- zu Mintoff and Toni Abela following their public criticism of corruption and misconduct within the party. During the conference, Mintoff deliv- ered a charged defiant speech in his own defence. He openly denounced party mem- bers who had exploited government positions for personal gain: "These are people who use their membership within whatever party is in govern- ment in order to get richer… money is given when it is not supposed to be given, property is not constructed when it should be, and people who were poor have become rich thanks to the workers' government." He further lambasted the misuse of the Labour Party itself: "Everybody uses the Malta Labour Party as his toi- let; uses it whenever he needs it and then changes alliance and keeps on benefiting when the time comes and others are in government." Mintoff also spoke about what he saw as betrayal of socialist principles: "Some are partners of companies like the concrete company I have men- tioned. They have betrayed the par- ty…" The uncompromising Mintoff made no attempt to curry favour in his speech, effectively sealing his fate and triggering a negative response by par- ty delegates. Despite being expelled, Mintoff continued to serve in par- liament, becoming Malta's first-ever Green MP, representing Alternattiva Demokratika. EPISODE 4 1992: Confronting Lorry Sant Wenzu Mintoff directly challenged former Public Works Minister Lorry Sant, whose alleged corruption and criminal charges were ultimately dis- missed because they were time-barred statutes. Their rivalry culminated in a public debate in June 1992 chaired by lawyer Georg Sapiano at City Gate in Valletta. Subsequently Sant at- tempted to intimidate and blackmail Mintoff in Parliament using undis- closed photographs related to the personal life of family members, but Mintoff stood firm. Mintoff's defiance also led to a series of incidents with other Labour parliamentarians in- cluding a physical confrontation with former MP John Dalli. Lorry Sant was eventually kicked out of the Labour Party after it lost the 1992 general election and Alfred Sant was elected leader. EPISODE 5 1993: Denouncing corruption at Mid Med Bank Wenzu Mintoff played a pivotal role in bringing the Mid Med Bank scan- dal to light as a whistle blower. He had worked as a legal advisor to the bank in the 1980s. In a press conference on 13 November 1993, Mintoff described what he had told Judge Giuseppe An- astasi, who had been entrusted by the incoming Nationalist government with investigating the bank: "Indi- viduals that I have mentioned in the Anastasi Inquiry would appear in the legal office where I worked and would insist arrogantly on having their con- tract signed, even though searches re- garding their companies had not yet been concluded and even though they had complications relating to loan repayments and ownership of prop- erty." Mintoff recounted how these indi- viduals and their notaries repeatedly referred legal questions to Joe Butti- gieg, then a Labour MP and chairman of the bank, who invariably instructed the legal office to proceed. He named a small group of politically connect- ed businessmen repeatedly involved in irregularities. Mintoff highlighted egregious breaches of procedure, such as loans being greenlit by phone and contracts being forwarded without proper signatures. On one occasion, he described being pressured by busi- nessman Victor Balzan in December 1985 to sign a contract before notarial checks were completed and later be- ing reassigned to a room with no work when he refused. The Anastasi Report confirmed that Mid Med Bank had been character- ised by institutionalised corruption and political clientelism during the late 1970s and 1980s, with loans sys- tematically granted based on party af- filiation rather than commercial mer- it. Despite these damning findings, no high-level criminal prosecutions or jail sentences followed. Mintoff's testimony and public statements were crucial in revealing the scale of the abuses committed and cemented his reputation as one of the few figures willing to confront entrenched polit- ical and financial power. EPISODE 6 1989-1998: Alternattiva Demokratika's first chairperson After leaving Labour, Mintoff be- came the first and only MP for Alter- nattiva Demokratika (AD) and served as the party's first chairperson. He spearheaded campaigns for elector- al reform, participated in the Gonzi Commission, and led non-violent di- rect actions reclaiming public coast- line from private encroachments. The party, through its fortnightly newspa- per Alternattiva, exposed corruption under Nationalist administrations, in- cluding the Auxiliary Workers scan- dal, building a reputation for princi- pled activism across party lines. But despite initially capturing public im- agination and winning 4,200 votes in the 1992 general election, the party's vote contracted in elections held in 1996 and 1998, with Mintoff's limited charisma possibly being a factor. EPISODE 7 1998-2013: Back home in Labour Mintoff returned to Labour af- ter 1998 and co-hosted the TV pro- gramme Robin Hood with Toni Ab- ela, which voiced the party's anti-EU membership message. Mintoff once again provoked hostile reactions when he was mobbed by Nationalist Lorry Sant (left) at a 1989 debate in Valletta with Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson Wenzu Mintoff (right). heated discussion < CONTINUES FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Wenzu Mintoff co-founded Alternattiva Demokratika in 1989 and became the party's first chairperson A principled crusader or the tantrum