Lou Bondì and Anton Attard lose government consultancies

Lou Bondì’s contract with the Arts Council will not be renewed when it expires in the next few days, a spokesperson for the Culture Ministry has confirmed.

Bondi was contracted on a position of trust basis for €51,000 per year.

Similarly, Anton Attard’s contract as a technical consultant on a position of trust basis with the Foundation for National Celebrations has also been terminated.

“Bondì’s contract has a few days to run and conditions will be respected but it will not be renewed. In Attard’s case, the contract was not going to expire anytime soon but the new minister has exercised his right to terminate positions of trust,” the spokesperson said.

The decisions by Culture Minister José Herrera will go down well with Labour Party diehards.

Bondì was engaged on a position of trust soon after the Labour Party came to government in 2013.

Accused by Labour supporters of being discriminatory towards their party in his TV programmes before 2013, Bondì’s eventual engagement by the government angered many in the grassroots.

READ ALSO: Lou Bondì versus the web

Attard had been the Nationalist Party’s campaign manager in the 2008 election and was subsequently retained CEO at PBS by Joseph Muscat’s incoming Labour government.

During the PL leadership campaign, Robert Abela’s supporters accused rival Chris Fearne of using Bondi’s services in his campaign. He was also accused of using the services of Anton Attard.

Fearne denied Bondi’s and Attard’s involvement in his campaign but after he lost, sources within his ministry confirmed that Bondi had been meeting the leadership contender regularly.