Committing political suicide

I refer to the article "Labour 'urged' to align itself with Bonde's EDD group", (May 8).

One thing is certain, the Labour Party is not short of advice. This latest gem comes from Sharon Ellul Bonici, who advises the party to align itself with the extreme right wing EDD Group (Europe of Democracies and Diversities) led by Jens-Peter Bonde.

She seems to think she is complimenting the MLP by stating that they are closer to Mr Bonde's minuscule and insignificant group than the largest and most influential group in the European parliament, the progressive European Socialists group.

Ms Ellul Bonici and Alfred Sant seem to be hell bent on condemning the MLP to the opposition benches for an indefinite period. They are both of the opinion that the rest of the European Socialists, who unequivocally state that the EU is beneficial to their members, are wrong and only they are right in their assessment.

The fact that the MLP has just been trounced in the referendum and the election, precisely because they are not in tune with the majority who favour membership, seems to be irrelevant to Ms Ellul Bonici.

If the MLP seriously aspire to be electable in five years' time they must disassociate themselves convincingly from this reckless proposition.

This country needs an alternative government, however unless a radical update of MLP strategies is made, to align themselves with the rest of European Socialists, MLP governance will be a forlorn hope.

I hope that, after the selection or confirmation of a new leader, the MLP will not make another tragic mistake, like the one proposed by Ms Ellul Bonici.