Labour Party general secretary Jimmy Magro yesterday officially announced he would not be standing for the post next month and that he would be focusing on getting elected to the European parliament.

"I gave the party everything I had. Now it is time to move on," he said.

Mr Magro said he would be casting his nomination for the party executive.

Flanked by his wife Carmen, Mr Magro said he had been in the party administration for 14 years and he served 12 of those as general secretary.

He chose to give a news conference in his personal capacity saying the decision was taken in consultation with his wife.

Mr Magro outlined what he had done to modernise the party over the years and his role in building the party's media and headquarters but he felt it was now the right time to give delegates the opportunity to choose another general secretary.

"The MLP is part of my life and I will remain in the political sphere. The next step for me is the European parliament elections," he said.

Mr Magro said he was making the announcement as others had already made their intentions known and he wanted to be in the race.

Asked what attracted him to the European parliament, Mr Magro said it was part of the "checks and balances" in the democratic system and he would strive to ensure that the EU parliament would recognise the diversity that existed in EU member states.

Asked whether he felt comfortable working with people whom the MLP leader had called "Taliban", Mr Magro said "I don't think they were ever Taliban."

Asked about his highest and lowest moments as general secretary, Mr Magro said the electoral victory of 1996 was of big satisfaction while, in an obvious reference to Dom Mintoff, he said one of the biggest disappointments was "that there was someone who did not let the MLP govern".

Alfred Grixti, who is considered as one of the likely contenders for the general secretary post, was the only MLP official to attend Mr Magro's press conference.