Election Playbook: Hi MTV, I’m Peter Agius and welcome to my crib

Architectural Hard-to-digest: There’s been a lot of talk about Peter Agius’s humble abode after the Labour Party claimed he was pretending to live in his unfinished Mosta office. This prompted him to give his Facebook audience a little home tour of his office, to prove that it is habitable. In the video he shows us his little desk, a small bathroom and then a small kitchenette plus “green corner”. My opinion? The desk doesn’t look too inviting. The bathroom is sleek except for the blue faucet (Nationalist Party blue?). The fridge is particularly lacking with just a couple of beers and wine bottles, and that green corner is looking more beige than it does green.

Palestine endorsement: Labour, green and independent candidates have endorsed a Palestinian solidarity statement calling on MEPs to state their position on Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people of Gaza. But a number of candidates were approached for their opinion and did not endorse. Interestingly, these candidates all hail from the Nationalist Party. The candidates are EP President Roberta Metsola, Peter Agius, Lee Bugeja Bartolo, Norma Camilleri and David Casa.

The mother of all inquiries: You thought the Vitals inquiry saga was over? It looks like a separate inquiry into corruption allegations involving the Electrogas power station project has also been concluded. This was six years in the making, and had kicked off after the Panama Papers revelations on Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. Lawyer Jason Azzopardi broke the news on his Facebook page first, and Nationalist MEP David Casa later said he will be formally requesting a copy of the inquiry in the coming days. It was actually Casa, former PN leader Simon Busuttil and Repubblika who requested the inquiry, with the legal help of Azzopardi. We don’t know what’s been concluded yet, but the magistrate does seem to recommend criminal action.

Debating Metsola: Metsola made an appearance at the Malta Chamber of Commerce’s MEP debate , but did not actually participate in the debate. Instead, she opted for a ‘fireside chat’. Metsola has been conspicuously absent from all sorts of debates this campaign season, insisting that she cannot debate fellow MEPs because her role as a European Parliament president precludes her from doing so. As president, she is responsible for anything that happens to MEPs, so she cannot debate MEPs she has a duty to protect. Where exactly this is laid out in the EP rules and procedures is still a mystery. But if she really can’t debate MEPs, then I would like to invite her to a debate with the MaltaToday newsroom on the best pastizzi in Malta. She seems to be a fan!

A photo of Metsola eating pastizzi at Roger's Bakery in Żejtun - a MaltaToday favourite!

What’s happening today?: The Labour Party is holding a rally in Gozo at 5:30pm, and a separate rally at 8pm in Paola. The Nationalist Party will be in Mosta at 6:30pm.