Austin Gatt sidekick Manuel Delia to run for Fifth District

Austin Gatt’s right-hand man Manuel Delia is a prospective candidate for the Nationalist Party on the fifth electoral district.

Gatt’s 35-year-old head of secretariat is expected to present serious competition to Franco Debono, the PN backbencher who shocked the government in 2009 when he threatened to abstain on a crucial parliamentary vote for being “sidelined” by the party.

After his master’s bold claims to The Times that he would not seek re-election, Delia is latching on to his ministry’s resources (and minister’s relatives) for some pre-electoral boost.

His personal website www.delia.pn has been developed by the company 2i Ltd, which has already been awarded a direct order from Gatt’s Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications to develop the website for Transport Malta. Several other websites – Malta IT Agency (MITA) and passaporti.gov.mt – falling under MITC’s portfolio, and even the ministry’s website itself, have also been developed by 2i Ltd.

And TV presenter Lou Bondì – cousin of the minister – has already obliged with a public endorsement of Delia in a political event for Zurrieq constituents. “The country needs people with his intelligence, integrity and passion for politics,” Bondì told an audience for Delia’s first event.

Also assisting him in his campaign are the ministry’s communications coordinator Amanda Ciappara and Bernard Pace, his personal assistant in the ministry.

Delia told his constituents that the fifth district – which in 2008 saw newcomer Franco Debono take hold of the constituency after years being dominated by the veteran Louis Galea – “needs a new generation of candidates.”

“People like ministers Louis Galea and Ninu Zammit worked hard to throw money down these parts… I’m proud to have worked hard, in my way, to intensify efforts for road construction in these towns,” Delia said about his ministry’s contribution to the district.

Delia also gave constituents a ‘sneak preview’ of Valletta Road’s reconstruction in Zurrieq during the event.

“The PN has been in government since 1987, except for a short break that allowed me to ‘make some scenes’ at university,” the former KSU president said about his role in leading students’ protests in 1997 against the Labour government’s curtailment of university stipends. “Brazil won the World Cup five times but they don’t say they’re about to give it up to the English to win… the Nationalists are still better than Labour,” Delia told his audience.

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