PN insists its candidate must issue public apology
PN incumbent for the Sliema council election Julian Galea says his comments ‘do not reflect’ what he believes in or how he runs his business.
Updated at 15:30
Sliema PN councillor Julian Galea has made a public apology for the comments passed during a meeting of the Sliema council.
"I apologise for those comments which truly do not reflect the position of the Nationalist Party," Galea said.
"They also do not reflect the way I carry out my business."
In the recording, Galea is heard saying that he pays his Labour workers less than those who support the PN.
"All my employees can guarantee that I have never let myself be influenced or in any away let the political opinion of an individual influence my decisions when interviewing prospective workers," Galea said.
In the statement, Galea reiterated that his comments were "wrong" and didn't reflect what he believed in.
"For this I'd like to publicly apologise for the wrong comments passed," he said.
Earlier
The Nationalist Party are expecting Sliema PN councillor Julian Galea to publicly apologise for discriminatory comments made against Labour voters during a meeting of the Sliema council.
Yesterday, the Labour Party's TV station One News aired recordings of comments allegedly made by Galea - one of the PN's candidates for the local council election in Sliema.
Contacted by MaltaToday, the PN's communications office said Galea's "insulting" comments were unacceptable.
"Such comments diminish the respect expected between political adversaries and the respect which each PN candidate or councillor must have towards others, even when in disagreement with their political beliefs," the PN said.
It added: "The PN expects Julian Galea to publicly apologise for the comments made."
Meanwhile, MaltaToday has also tried to get a reaction from Galea. Contacted yesterday evening, Galea said he couldn't speak as he was in a meeting. Contacted this morning at around 9:30am, Galea said he would be sending a statement "in around three hours".
So far, MaltaToday has received nothing from Galea. Repeated attempts to contact him by phone have proved to be futile.
In the recording aired yesterday, Galea was heard saying: "I am anti-Labour. I cannot stand Labourites. I have a phobia of Labourites."
"If a girl tells me she is a Labourite, I tell her to get lost," he says.
Galea, who owns a catering establishment, goes on to add that the Labour workers in his employ get "the least pay" and that those workers who support the Nationalist Party "get a higher pay".











































































