MLP officials see need for overhaul

There is widespread agreement among senior Labour officials on the need for an overhaul of the party, although it now seems likely that Alfred Sant will remain leader after he announced his intention to put his name forward for the post.

It is still not certain that the leadership will be contested. Evarist Bartolo ruled himself out of the race now that Dr Sant has decided to stand and other contenders contacted yesterday chose to leave all their options open.

John Attard Montalto has asked for the election to be postponed and Anglu Farrugia said he intended to contest though he would take a final decision once the nominations open.

Two weeks after saying he did not intend to contest, Dr Sant on Thursday declared he would submit his candidature. He also urged those who felt they had a contribution to make as leader to submit their nominations.

The election is to be held at a party extraordinary general conference in a fortnight. Nominations must be submitted between Thursday and Saturday.

Contacted yesterday, Dr Attard Montalto said he hoped "for the sake of the party" it would first put its priorities in order before resolving the leadership issue. These priorities include the ratification of the EU treaty and pensions reform.

Before Dr Sant made his intentions known on Thursday, Dr Attard Montalto requested an urgent meeting to discuss his proposal. MLP general secretary Jimmy Magro said when contacted the party would be discussing this proposal shortly.

"At this moment in time I believe it is much more important that the party discusses at length and in depth its policy for the future, taking into consideration its basic principles, the Constitution and the political scenario as a result of the referendum and the election, namely Malta's expected accession to the EU," he said.

Dr Attard Montalto refused to say whether he would contest if the meeting were not held.

Dr Farrugia is continuing with his campaign among party delegates, referring to Dr Sant's encouragement for people to contest.

When asked about his chances, Dr Farrugia said a leader always had the edge as he had the party and its structures behind him but he believed his chances were still good.

George Abela, who in a Xarabank survey published last night polled the highest number of preferences for MLP leader among the general population, could not be contacted for comment.

Mr Bartolo reiterated that he would not contest the post with Dr Sant in the running. But he admitted that changes were needed, irrespective of who was leading the party.

"The party needs a change in structure and attitude. We need a revision of certain decisions which have perhaps cut the party off from the mainstream," he said.

He said he believed the Labour Party needed to drive the message home that it was an alternative government.

It needed to be more inclusive and adopt a more positive attitude.

Asked how the MLP parliamentary group intended to vote on the EU treaty ratification, Mr Bartolo said the issue had still to be resolved.

"As Dr Sant made clear, I believe the MLP has to respect the decision of the majority. The country has taken the strategic decision to join the EU and we have to respect that," he said.

He still believed an election for the leadership would be held. "The Labour Party is a democratic structure and contests for such posts are healthy."