In search of a more open Labour Party

Anglu Farrugia tells Herman Grech he does not agree that Alfred Sant will be the outright winner in tomorrow's election for Labour Party leader.

How would you describe Alfred Sant?

He is an intelligent and honest man. But he is soft with the Nationalists and sometimes he's scared and uncertain.

Would you describe him as a failed leader?

Yes, he has completely failed. And the fact that he has resubmitted his candidature was not a good move politically.

Today we have a Nationalist Party which has won a series of elections, partly because it has renewed itself. A couple of years ago they appointed Lawrence Gonzi as a new deputy leader. Eddie Fenech Adami knows he will leave next year.

So is it that the MLP never changes and continues sinking? We are in a pitiful situation. After all these defeats, the MLP is in a mess. We need to pick up the pieces, reorganise it and clean up the cliques which have grown around Dr Sant.

Who are these cliques?

These are individuals within Super 1 and at the party headquarters - the Labourites are suffocated by them. There is no access. You have activists who haven't met anybody from the administration for years.

A party needs all-round participation. When Tony Blair took over the British Labour Party he realised the party was not utilising political forums and he worked his way to the top by making sure all Labour supporters throughout the country played their part.

You are competing against the existing leader of the MLP. Why have you persisted with your nomination when others seemed to have backed out?

In this party election I wanted to send a clear message. The style of leadership has to change. Dr Sant said a lot of things before the 1996 election and did not fulfil them.

For example, he declared war on the barons. Not only did he not eliminate them but he actually reappointed some of them and provided them with more work.

The problem with Dr Sant is that he had a lot of unfinished business with the Nationalists. There were many Labourites who suffered under a PN government, and who deserved attention, but Dr Sant instead put them at the back of the queue, and this demoralised them.

A leader has to deliver or quit.

What are you advising, revenge? I mean, many believe Dr Sant was a fair leader and prime minister.

No, I'm not talking about vindictiveness in any manner. But a leader shouldn't make allegations unless they are substantiated. When you promise things, the electorate expects you to deliver. A leader has to be disciplined in his speech. U-turns in politics reflect a lack of loyalty towards your supporters.

Your comment that Dr Sant was too soft with the Nationalists will surely not go down well with floating voters.

No, don't get me wrong. It's not about personal grudges. In fact, I was the one who actually told Dr Fenech Adami we needed the political parties to unite on certain occasions and turn over a new leaf. People can't wait any longer to have their party in government to make sure something happens.

I respect the people's democratic choices. If the people have opted for the EU, then it's a closed issue. But we should not lose everything we've worked for, such as the issue of neutrality. I know we can actually work together with the government in this respect. We can make alliances with other neutral EU countries.

Some blame party president Manwel Cuschieri for contributing to the party's defeat. Do you agree with this line of thought?

Mr Cuschieri didn't help to draw floating voters. He is there on radio to appease the elderly and diehards at 12.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. But this is not politics. It's wrong. Just as it's wrong if somebody is trying to dissuade people who believe in me. It's wrong.

But why should they be scared of you?

It's because they know Anglu Farrugia delivers what he says, as he has done in the past. They know I have a track record, but there are people who want to save the clique.

They know that if I am elected leader I will clean up the party at once. The problems at Super 1 and the headquarters, and the cliques living off each other has to stop. These people have not been controlled.

A leader should have told Mr Cuschieri to stop making certain allegations. Anybody with a sense of dignity should do so.

I think that your chances and those of John Attard Montalto are bleak...

No, I'm sorry, I don't agree with you. I can show you the number of letters I receive from supporters hoping that I become leader. The majority of Labourites want a change.

Yes, I admit, the delegates are finding it difficult because, for the first time in its history, the MLP leader's post is also being contested by the actual leader.

Normally a leader quits. Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Dom Mintoff did so and have never been contested. I'm afraid delegates will take a decision based on their emotions...

I think Dr Sant realised his mistakes the day after the election and did the right thing in saying he would not contest. But what happened? We were left for three weeks in limbo, and then he went on to make his intentions known in the obscenity that was May 1. Everybody was disgusted at the way Worker's Day was orchestrated. People were being told to hold placards in favour of Dr Sant. His speech marked the opening of his campaign. It was an insult to workers. His behaviour was ethically incorrect. I know of a lot of delegates who were disgusted with what happened that day.

All three candidates for the leadership post have declared they will vote against the ratification of the EU treaty. I mean, this doesn't really give the impression that the party is starting afresh.

It's a different issue. There are a lot of things in the treaty which don't make sense. Neutrality will, however, unite us.

But it's obvious that there were several Labourites who abandoned their party simply because of the EU.

Yes, definitely. I will vote against the treaty as a sign that we want better things for the country.

So what you're implying is that after the parliament vote, you will turn over a new leaf on the issue of the EU.

I believe that after a party matures over a certain decision we need to move forward. And it will not only be what the leader believes in which matters. That's the difference between me and Dr Sant. I believe in openness.

Did you foresee a Labour defeat in the last general election?

In the days leading up to the election, yes, I did. Labourites were calling me telling me they had voted yes in the referendum and because they firmly believed in the EU they would give their first preference to the PN and thereafter continue on Labour candidates.

Who do you blame for this?

I think it was a collective mistake. But I think towards the end, the messy proposal of holding another referendum after the election was a cardinal mistake which cost us a lot of votes.

In fact, I voted against that proposal. Nobody believed it was possible. The Labourites who voted in favour of the EU were in the middle to upper class sector, the kind who could analyse matters in detail. And they knew that membership in 2007 was not possible.

So you think the referendum result should have been respected?

I believe we should have abided by our interpretation that we won the referendum.

Was that a correct interpretation?

Today, seeing the way things turned out, no, it wasn't the right interpretation. Dr Fenech Adami took us for a ride until the last week of the election by not publishing the treaty so we couldn't carry out an objective criticism of that deal. The PN sold the EU as paradise while we wasted our time selling the partnership concept.

Did you honestly believe in this EU partnership concept?

Yes, I believed in a form of partnership, but it wasn't as strong as EU membership.

So why didn't you try and change your party's policy?

Because I've never been in favour of the EU. I still think it doesn't benefit us to become members. We will have a lot of teething problems.

Should the party continue to alienate certain sections of the media? Will your party, for example, keep boycotting programmes produced by Where's Everybody?

Such decisions have to be discussed from scratch. We should revise those issues which gain us nothing. The problem with the MLP is that it doesn't accept auto-criticism.

If elected leader tomorrow, what would be your first step?

We can't hold a general conference just once a year simply to act as a rubber stamp for decisions already taken at the top. We need a pyramid way of working - from bottom to top.

I will hold meetings with everybody. I have no problems with anyone, including Dr Sant. If I win I still want him to make his contribution to the party. He is very valid but not as a leader. The party should be a winnable party. Remember, we have once again lost by a wide margin.

I also want to improve our relationship with the European Social Democrat parties, because we have a massive vacuum there.

What if Dr Sant is elected to lead the party again. Will you quit?

It'll be life as usual for me. It happened to me in 1998 when I contested the post of deputy leader. I will continue working in my profession and for the benefit for the party I believe in.

But how can you work together after being so open about your views?

I have no problem. It's not personal, even if I believe Dr Sant should go.

Delegates should really think hard and analyse whether the party can move forward by retaining the status quo. If they think they can do so with the clique and policies which result in defeat, then so be it.

But if they want a more open party, if they want the MLP to grow, if they want to assure neutrality and a disciplined party, then they know what to do.