Labour in drive to convince EU sceptics to vote

With less than two months to go to the European parliament elections, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant yesterday admitted that a number of staunch anti-EU Labourites were still reluctant to vote.

Asked by The Times whether the numbers were considerable, Dr Sant replied: "In politics the numbers are always significant".

"They (the sceptics) are arguing that once they are not interested in being in the EU then they should keep out of all EU matters," Dr Sant said.

Labour Party sources said the party feared that up to 10 per cent of its supporters would not bother to vote on June 12, enough to sway the result well in favour of the Nationalist Party.

The sources said the MLP faced an uphill struggle trying to convince supporters to vote in a European election - the same people who had been told for several years that EU membership was wrong.

The issue is clearly a sticking point for the MLP with all speakers at a political activity in Hamrun yesterday appealing to supporters to mobilise the sceptics for the election.

The party was urging its supporters to vote not to give some impression that the MLP had recovered from anything but merely to ensure that their interests were defended in Europe, Dr Sant noted. "This is not a vote for or against Europe. Our aim is simply to create the right conditions for work - and these are the aspiration of the Party of European Socialists."

Labour's spokesman for EU affairs, Evarist Bartolo, added that those that insisted on throwing away their vote in June and urging others to do likewise were betraying the MLP's principles.

Deputy leader Charles Mangion warned that it was useless crying over spilt milk if the MLP failed to be represented sufficiently in the European parliament.

Turning to the economic situation, Dr Sant said he had expected Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to map out a serious plan to give an impetus to the tourism sector as soon as he assumed the job at Castille. Yet, nothing had happened in this respect.

Blaming the September 11 attacks and SARS for the continuing dismal tourism performance was nothing more than a sorry excuse, he said.

Dr Sant said his party was determined to hold one of its biggest ever manifestations for Workers' Day on May 1. This, he underlined, was not being done as some form of competition for the government, which is set to hold large celebrations in Valletta on April 30 to mark Malta's entry into the EU on May 1.

Asked about media reports implicating the MLP in tax evasion, Dr Sant said he had no comments to make.