Playing with words

The leadership of the Malta Labour Party is becoming very adept at giving different meanings to the same words.

Many months ago, Alfred Mifsud, considered by some to be an aspiring party heavyweight, gave an interview in which he had tried to justify the use of violence. When he realised that his words caused an uproar, he made a rather feeble attempt at correcting himself by saying that he should perhaps have used the word force rather than violence.

Later, we had the leader of the Labour Party making the quite remarkable suggestion that Malta should shelve the EU issue for a few years. Dr Sant has propagated against joining the EU ever since he assumed the leadership of the Malta Labour Party and I fear he has unintentionally led the party into a cul-de-sac.

Why did he have to commit himself prior to the conclusion of negotiations on Malta's accession package? Of course there are several pressing items on the local front that need to be seen to without delay. As a businessman I know full well that the local economy is in "slowdown" mode.

I am also very aware that our environment needs to be spruced up. But why mix these and other issues with the country's application to join the EU? The country has invested more than enough time on the EU debate. It is now decision time.

The most recent incident concerns an exchange of views and a subsequent play on words by Dr Sant and Mr Mifsud. The issue was sparked off by a comment made by Mr Mifsud on a TV chat show when he said that if the Labour Party decides not retain VAT, he would consider withdrawing his candidature for the next general election.

Dr Sant's reply was quick. He chastised Mr Mifsud and said that had he been aware of this condition he would have advised Mr Mifsud not to offer himself as a candidate in the first place.

Mr Mifsud is now attempting to limit the adverse political fallout of his original declaration by trying to give yet another meaning to his original words.

Writing in The Times he says "if the party general conference were to eventually crystallise policies on VAT which were not congruent with mine then I may not be able to take an active part in the execution of such policies".

What is Mr Mifsud really trying to say? In his letter, he also makes a rather pathetic and uncalled for pledge of allegiance to Dr Sant and the Labour Party.

The Malta Labour Party needs strong, decisive leadership. It cannot afford to keep shooting itself in the leg with these ambiguous declarations.

Dr Sant comes across as a leader who is prone to take decisions without consulting his colleagues (the pledge to remove VAT is but one example) but who takes immediate exception as soon as any party member takes a different view from his own.

Mr Mifsud is fast becoming a master of what I could call, "creative interpretation". He is apt to say one thing and then come back a few days later to say "oops sorry, what I really meant was ."

The gentleman would do well to heed the following words attributed to Benjamin Franklin: "Think twice before you speak and you will speak the more wisely for it."