Watch: Żejtun council in turmoil as Labour councillors turn on each other

The Żejtun local council, serving one of Labour’s strongest electoral footholds, has descended into open infighting, with Labour councillors accusing Mayor Joan Agius of running the council as a personal fiefdom and sidelining them.

The latest council meeting was dominated by shouting, insults and accusations, culminating in one councillor walking out and the mayor abruptly ending proceedings after a confrontation with her deputy.

Labour councillor Ivan Giardina left the meeting after telling Agius not to invite him to council meetings any longer.

He also asked the mayor to report him to the Labour Party, saying he would be more than happy if the party kicked him out of the council.

His departure exposed the depth of the breakdown between the mayor and members of her own political camp, as disagreements over the council’s management spilled into open confrontation.

The meeting later unravelled further during an angry exchange between Agius and Deputy Mayor Raymond Caruana over arrangements during her absence on a trip to Turkey.

Caruana complained that he had received no handover before the mayor travelled abroad. He insisted that this should not happen again, arguing that, as deputy mayor, he was supposed to take charge of the council while she was away.

Agius dismissed his complaint, telling him in front of the other councillors that she did not trust him to take over her duties.

She also accused Caruana of making a mess of responsibilities she had previously entrusted to him.

Visibly angry, Caruana rejected the accusations as unacceptable and warned that the matter would not end there.

Agius immediately ordered the meeting to close, bringing the heated exchange to an abrupt halt.

The clashes laid bare a bitter internal dispute within Labour’s council ranks, with the mayor’s handling of responsibilities and her relationship with fellow councillors at the centre of proceedings.