How Manuel Mallia and Joseph Muscat hooked up

From a report in Malta Today, written by that other shady character Karl Stagno Navarra, in January 2012. Shame he didn’t ask him all the obvious questions when Mallia himself brought up the subject of the twins. Or what would have been the obvious questions to me, anyway, like had he divorced under the new legislation, had he married the mother of his children (he hadn’t, when the interview took place) and, but this one comes with the luxury of hindsight, had he paid the bill for the delivery of his children at the state hospital (he still hasn’t):

Mallia explains that he only knew Muscat as a successful MEP, and the two had met on Christmas day in 2008 when both were with their families for lunch at a hotel restaurant.

“That time we had just had our twins and as we sat with our tables practically back-to-back Muscat turned and congratulated me and my partner on the newborns.

“Joseph and Michelle had twins too, and an interesting conversation ensued on caring for newborn twins.”

Subsequent to that lunch, an unexpected invitation to a New Year’s Eve party placed them at a venue where Muscat and his wife were also among the invitees.

“It was shortly after midnight of 2009 when Muscat – surrounded by a number of people – called me and told me that he wishes that I would contest the general election for the Labour Party,” he explains, adding that he immediately replied with a question: “do you know my background?”

‘Yes I do,” was Muscat’s answer and things stopped there until some weeks after he received a phone call from the Labour Party to meet with Muscat, and the two established a rapport which Mallia describes as “quite close.”

Mallia explains that apart from being made to feel welcome within the party, whereby he was also given a front seat at the party general conference soon after, he was called in by Muscat to discuss issues related to the controversial VAT charge on car registration.

“Since then we kept regular contact by phone, e-mail and text messages, and we discuss a number of matters.”