Labour still undecided over which way to vote

The Labour Party has still not decided whether to vote for or against the ratification of the EU accession treaty, Labour leader Alfred Sant said.

Asked how the party would be voting in parliament, Dr Sant said: "The parliamentary group will meet and decide about that at a later stage".

Dr Sant wrote in The Times yesterday that the treaty would soon be presented to parliament for ratification. "The ruling government majority will ensure that under existing constitutional rules, that ratification will be carried," he wrote.

Contacted yesterday and asked whether he meant that a simple majority was adequate to ratify the treaty, Dr Sant said: "The Constitution is very clear".

Dr Sant said he was not a lawyer and the opinion of lawyers should be sought on whether a simple majority or, as is argued by some, a two thirds majority is required for the ratification of the treaty.

Asked for his reaction to what Dr Sant wrote, acting prime minister Lawrence Gonzi said the Labour leader had no alternative but to make such a declaration because according to the Constitution the EU treaty should be approved by a simple majority in parliament.

"Dr Sant and other MLP speakers have been arguing that the people have decided and that this decision should be respected. It now remains to be seen whether they will respect the people's wishes by voting in favour in parliament as well," Dr Gonzi said.

However, former Labour prime minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici is dumbfounded by the MLP's attitude.

"The Nationalist Party did not dump its pro-EU ideas when it lost the election in 1996. The MLP should do the same and when it is in government in five, 10 or 15 years' time, withdraw Malta from the EU," he said.

"In a democracy, it is healthy to have opposing views. A political party does not dump its principles because it loses an election. It should keep promoting them, using all democratic means, to convince the majority that its policies are better.

"Those who voted for EU membership have to be guided by the parameters laid down by the Constitution in their actions, not the other way round," he said.

Asked whether he felt the Constitution should be amended, in case of a conflict with the treaty, in the light of the people's decision in favour of EU membership, he said: "The Constitution should not be changed every five years or whenever there is a change in government". He said the current Constitution was approved by all members of the House bar one, who had voted against. "These represent more people than the 52 per cent who voted in favour of EU membership," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

Asked whether he or the Malta Arise Front were contemplating filing a constitutional case about the ratification of the treaty, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said one first needed to see the text of the treaty and establish whether it was in conflict with the Constitution.

The ratification procedure is expected to take place next month.