Coleiro-Preca won’t contest elections

“I informed Labour leader Joseph Muscat on 31 May that I won’t be contesting the next elections… I’m coming out in public on this so that there is no misinterpretation of my intentions. It’s a decision I have taken in the best interests of Labour. I expected nobody takes advantage of my decision,” she said in a statement today.

Coleiro-Preca was a former secretary-general of Labour and a candidate for the party leadership in the last elections that saw Joseph Muscat elected leader.

“I have been active 36 years in the party and I never benefited from my political activism personally… I’m leaving politics with less than I ever started because I gave my time, strength, and my family’s wealth to serve people.”

As one of Labour’s anti-divorce MPs, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was a supporter of the referendum. “I feel this is an issue that the people must give us MPs a mandate for us to decide according to their wishes… This is a matter of conscience, but I cannot impose it upon others without a mandate from the people. And it should be an informed decision by the people... I believe in a discussion that is well-informed, that goes beyond crusades and fanaticism, but I’ve been disappointed so far.”