Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/834699
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2017 TIM DIACONO THE Labour Party has de- nied that Tony Blair was paid to endorse Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. A PL spokesperson told MaltaToday that the en- dorsement was arranged following contact between the Labour Party and Blair's communication team, but that no money changed hands. The former UK Prime Min- ister has been ranked as one of the most highly-paid pub- lic speakers in the world, and in 2015 drew controversy when he pulled out of giving a 20-minute speech at the World Hunger Forum be- cause the organisers couldn't meet his £330,000 price tag. In his endorsement of Mus- cat, aired during a Labour mass meeting at the Grana- ries on Sunday, Blair hailed the Maltese Prime Minister as "a great example of what progressive politicians could do in power". He listed Malta's economic success and the record low levels of unemployment. "A lot was done for women's rights and for the LGBTI community," he said, add- ing that he was "delighted" to see Malta holding the EU presidency. "I know elections are always tough and sometimes they don't always focus on the is- sues that matter, but they're a moment of great decision. And so, as Malta approaches [election day], I congratulate him and wish him luck." Following the endorse- ment, PN candidate and sur- geon Kevin Cassar wrote a letter to Blair to warn that his decision "drags you down with Dr Muscat's inner core into a world where evil is re- warded". "There is nothing progres- sive in a government that intimidates the free press, arrests editors of newspapers who dare expose his crimes, sues a Pulitzer winning jour- nalist, employs an official in his office [Glenn Beding- field] whose sole function is to harass and humiliate any- body who opposes the gov- ernment, whose chief of staff pays the managing director of one of the main newspa- pers [The Times] hundreds of thousands of euro in dirty money. "We have become in four short years closer to a repres- sive autocratic regime than a free European Union mem- ber state." Joseph Muscat has also been endorsed by Swed- ish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and by former Italian premier Matteo Renzi, while PN leader Simon Busuttil has been endorsed by Ger- man MEP and EPP chairman Manfred Weber. News FinaSpa OVER 200 TREATMENTS fortina spa - tigné seafront, sliema slm 3012, malta tel: +(356) 2346 2149 / +(356) 2346 2347 www.fortinasparesort.com e-mail: spa@fortinasparesort.com SCAN FOR ONLINE BOOKINGS Facials Hands & Feet Body & Beauty Massages Pregnancy Treatments Body Therapies Baths & water Treatments Spa Santé - Spa Facilities Kids Spa & much much more... Labour says Tony Blair wasn't paid for Muscat endorsement Labour insisted former UK PM Tony Blair, one of the world's highest- paid public speakers, wasn't paid to endorse Joseph Muscat