Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/823773
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 MAY 2017 3 News JPO on Labour ticket, Farrugia joins PD MIRIAM DALLI HE was once hunted down by Labour leader Alfred Sant over a planning permit for an open-air disco on his land at Mistra, which he had rented out for a handsome price. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, then a Nationalist MP, was said to have nearly cost the PN the elec- tion in 2008. But his valiant turnaround, chas- ing Sant during the campaign, de- manding a TV debate showdown with him, and his 'tears of rage' performance during a PN rally, achieved the unthinkable. Pulli- cino Orlando was elected on two districts, a pariah MP on the PN backbenches. Pullicino Orlando's announce- ment that he would be running on a Labour ticket came just 30 minutes before the Electoral Com- mission stopped receiving nomi- nations for the general elections yesterday evening. Pullicino Orlando broke ranks with his party in 2012, becoming an independent MP, after hav- ing undermined Lawrence Gonzi with a private member's bill to introduce divorce legislation that snowballed into a referendum that exposed the PN's outdated con- servatism. After 2013, he was retained as chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology, his alle- giance to Labour sealed by being invited to join the party celebra- tions at the Office of the Prime Minister. Yesterday, the former MP said his decision to run for the elec- tions was not easy. "Joseph Muscat encouraged me to contest with the Labour Party. I truly believe that Muscat should continue leading the party and so I've accepted," Pullicino Orlando said, adding that polls he commissioned on the seventh district received positive feedback. When asked about his experience at the hands of Labour in 2008, he was quick to turn the tables on the PN. "It was evident that the Na- tionalist Party was using me to win the elections. The PN was going to lose and they used me to win the election." He added that submitting the nomination at the eleventh hour showed "that I thought this deci- sion through". Pullicino Orlando said that after 2008, he was persecuted by the PN. "Because I didn't agree with what it was doing, the PN persecuted my family. I became the victim of per- sonal attacks, leading me to take the difficult decision of becoming an independent MP. But I've been working with Muscat for the past four years and I believe that he should continue leading the coun- try." Former Labour Whip for PD There are less than six degrees of separation between Pullicino Orlando and former Labour Whip Godfrey Farrugia: Pullicino Orlan- do was married to Marlene Farru- gia, leader of the fledgling Demo- cratic Party, whose partner is now Godfrey Farrugia. The political album is complete: Marlene Far- rugia, a former PN local council- lor, became a Labour MP, encour- aged Godfrey Farrugia to stand for Labour, who went on to become a minister, and who now will run on the Democratic Party 'ticket'… which is actually the Nationalist Party's ballot sheet. Farrugia yesterday announced his official resignation from the Labour Party after resigning as Whip two weeks earlier. Accompanied by Marlene Farru- gia, the family doctor submitted his nomination to the Electoral Com- mission, confirming that he will be running on districts six and seven. Standing outside the counting hall in Naxxar, Godfrey Farrugia reit- erated that the Labour Party had betrayed its 'Malta Taghna Lkoll' pledge, going against his belief of clean politics. At a press conference in Gozo, Labour leader Joseph Muscat would not be drawn into com- menting over Godfrey Farrugia's defection. Asked by MaltaToday whether Farrugia's decision re- flected badly upon the Labour gov- ernment, Muscat simply insisted that he "wished Godfrey well". Marlene Farrugia urged the elec- torate to vote for the PN-PD coali- tion, arguing that this would pre- sent "a national force" which fights for good governance and a demo- cratic government that leads with a social conscience. "People don't want the PN government they de- throned four years ago," she added. After submitting the necessary paperwork, his next stop was the PN headquarters in Pieta', where a visibly moved Farrugia was given a warm welcome by senior PN of- ficials. Marlene Farrugia will be contest- ing districts 5 and 10, going back on an original announcement that she would be running on District 7 – a district which includes God- frey Farrugia's hometown of Haz- Zebbug. In the letter, which was addressed to the president of the Labour Par- ty, Farrugia said he was stepping down from all Labour structures because he felt the party had lost its soul. A former health minister, Far- rugia quoted the words of Labour stalwart and minister Guże Ellul Mercer to explain his decision: "I'm in the workers' party because it is built on noble principles: it be- lieves that a human being should live as a human being, work as and feed himself as a human being... whether he's been born into a rich or poor family." Out of race: Joe M. Sammut Labour backbencher Joe Sam- mut yesterday announced that for personal reasons he would not be contesting the general election. In a letter to the Prime Minister, which Sammut reproduced on Fa- cebook, the Labour stalwart said he was bowing out of politics after 20 years and would not be contest- ing the elections "due to circum- stances beyond my control." Sammut said he was sad to have to make the announcement and thanked all those who had sup- ported him during his political career. As a result of his withdrawal from the electoral process, all ac- tivities related to his candidature on the 3rd and 5th districts have been cancelled, he said. "Prime Minister, this is a crucial time for me. As you know, I have, for the past 20 years been a mem- ber of Malta's parliament and had the good fortune to serve under your leadership both as Leader of the Opposition as well as Prime Minister," the resignation letter reads. "Now we find ourselves in the midst of an electoral campaign and making fast and firm pro- gress. However, at the moment I will have to stop here because cir- cumstances of a personal nature have developed and for this rea- son, I will not be submitting my candidature for the forthcoming election." Sammut said he hoped for an electoral victory for Muscat and the Labour Party and announced that he remained "available to give my contribution." Sammut had sued MaltaToday after the newspaper described him as an associate of property entrepreneur Marco Gaffarena, who was implicated in the contro- versial Old Mint Street expropria- tion. Sammut was at one point a co-director with Gaffarena in the company International Tobacco (Malta) Ltd together with Mark Gaffarena, which is currently in dissolution. Godfrey Farrugia resigned from the Labour Party to join his partner Marlene Farrugia's Democratic Party, which is contesting the elections on the PN ticket Joe M. Sammut, not contesting for Labour again, citing personal reasons, but auguring victory for Labour