Saturday, 19th April 2008 - 12:35CET
Muscat to hold public meetings ahead of MLP leadership contest
Labour Party leadership hopeful Joseph Muscat is to step up his election campaign by holding meetings for party delegates, members and the public.
Dr Muscat at a press conference this morning outlined his vision for the party, saying its structures needed to be updated to be more responsive to current needs.
The party also needed to be more open and inclusive, able to bring together the moderate and progressive elements in this country.
Dr Muscat said he was proposing the creation of public fora and think tanks which would review and propose party.
The party would also step up its direct links with the people and also set up a call centre where people could phone in suggestions or complaints.
He was also
proposing a review of the party media and the drawing up of a code of ethics,
and said the MLP needed a stronger presence on the internet.
Dr Muscat said the June 5 MLP leadership election would not be just about naming a new Labour leader, but about choosing a vision and a direction for the party.
He said the MLP under his leadership would be a convinced member of the European family of socialist parties.
At home, the MLP also needed to improve its environment credentials and develop new policies in line with European norms.
Dr Muscat said MLP, as a powerful party in opposition, would act in the national interest and expected open dialogue with the government as well as consultation.
He said his first public discussion will be held next Friday at Villa Overhills, Birzebbugia.
Another leadership contender, George Abela, held his first public activity at Cospicua last Sunday.
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Comments
What is not normal is how the political parties in Malta have developed over the last twenty years or so with complex, costly internal apparatus and media companies which have caused more problems than they solved. Indeed, one of the problems which the contenders have is in securing the right 'support' within this machinery and there are some who have good access and support.
The reality is - whether one likes it or not - that some people within the employ of the Party view certain contenders as threats to their positions and may resort to using their position to use the internal machinery to favour one candidate over another - which is grossly unfair and incorrect by any standard. This goes on even in the PN and anyone denying this is certainly either unaware or wishes to mislead.
In this respect I would also like to answer some comments:
@ A. Scicluna: I hope you really know what you are alleging. it is very comfortable to fire accusations against someone like Dr. Michael Falzon in this cowardly manner. What evidence do you have? If you are in the know, you should well know who in the MLP fires off similar false accusations whenever there is a contest of sorts... Ask Lino Spiteri!
@ Robert Aquilina: I disagree as well that Dr. Muscat is a continuation of Dr. Sant's tenure or approach but one cannot deny that Dr. Muscat 'grew up' in the group that associates itself the most with Dr. Sant. Personally, it is not Dr. Muscat who worries me but those people who may do anything to use Dr. Muscat's election to stick to their jobs and positions within the MLP and to do so may try and tilt the level playin field which should exist.
@ Michael Grech: Alas, you seem to be quite biased and unfair in your accusations against Dr. Falzon. It seems you either want to believe hogwash or else you missed the statement made by Dr. Falzon - in the presence of Dr. Mangion and Jason Micallef - in relation to what went on in the infamous 'one hour extension' on voting day. Likewise, you tend to mix up two important things: First, loyalty to the Party goes beyond loyalty to the leadership and Michael Falzon has been always loyal to the Party despite having his differences with Dr. Sant. That's why many Labour supporters and activists like Dr. Falzon stuck there through thick and thin.
Secondly, I think responsibility for losing an election is something which needs to be seen into in detail and should also encompass all the structures and companies (yes, like Super One) owned by the Party. It was not just Dr. Sant. It was the entire party's fault.
The important thing is that we need an alternative PM and alternative government now and we therefore cannot afford experiments or grooming exercises. We need a leader who as from June 5th shall 'battle' Dr. Gonzi in parliament as Leader of the MLP.
And where was Michael Falzon then? Wasn´t he the right hand side of Alfred Sant as deputy leader! both alfred sant and charles mangion assumed responsibility for the last electoral defeat and resigned (or expressed their intention to resign soon- as for mangion). However, michael falzon keeps holding his seat despite being in the same team who failed to return our party to government!!!!!!!
does the experience of extending the voting time by an additional hour with the blessing of louis gatt and michael falzon himself (which never happened before in the history of malta - and which benefitted the nationalist party to pull those few more needed electorate to the polls to win the election) should be added to the CV of michael falzon????
He should assume his responsibility for losing another election and resign together with the other members of the leadership. we need a new leader, a fresh leader who can bring the party forward and who´s not afraid to implement the necessary changes in the party!
Regarding Joe Muscat supporting Partnership and that he was a helper to A. Sant, it's no big deal. In my opinion being part of Labour everyone should have been helping Dr. Sant (no matter what) since that was the policy chosen by the party. If it was the right or wrong policy then it is another matter. However, situations change and people can change their opinion and way of thought too. That is how everyone matures otherwise you get stuck in the past. Therefore, those attacking Joe Muscat for his past involvement is pure nonsense and without base.
Why don't they criticise Gonzi for keeping a person like JPO and instead of kicking him out, he gave him the headship of a committee? It is very dangerous to hit out at others when you live in a glass house.
I hope that Labour elects the most suitable person from all contesting. Afterwards everybody else should pull the same rope to make Labour more unite, appealing, and the only choice in this country.
I think I have a right to disagree as much as you do.
By the way my lenses, are neither blue, nor red or green or yellow.
My foreign origins had very black lenses.... this is past history now.
My REAL colours are RED and WHITE with the George Cross.... I am proud of them and I shall be first in line to give praise to whoever strives to move these colours forward. Do you agree ?- I think so.
WHY is it that .....the ones with red lenses automatically picture ANYONE who citicises them as having blue lenses and vice versa. ...NOT ALL.. to be fair.
You have to be either one or the other.
NO sir - I am Free .
Mr . Spiteri ,when I place my comments I do not consider which political colour I am criticising - you can look this up in back issues and comments of mine if you want and find out for yourself. Kind Regards.
MLP not only moved forward but proved itself much more successful EVEN FROM OPPOSITION in EU thanks to the representative we elected, MEP Dr. Joseph Muscat.
I am sure you could understand better and see clearer if you could remove the blue lenses from your glasses and see through clear ones!!
The world is changing from time to time & we need to upgrade with the needs that are around us and that are a very potential tool in nowadays life. I beleive that Dr. Muscat has a very wide vision for the party & he can lead us to the very top. I beleive in him and in his bright ideas, he is a very down to earth person and very intellegent. Everyone can see what he did for Malta and for all the EU members in the EU parliament. Facts are on black & white that is why I want Dr. Muscat to be my leader for me, my brothers, friends & all the family.
Hope that any person who read my message will find some few minutes to STOP & reflect on his life and on his future.
I did I have my mind very clear about this particular decision of my leader............. hope you did too.
Your Quote 'PN stopped at the referendum...' - is wrong - This should read .....MLP stopped at the Partnership' - Don't twist the known facts .
PN moved forward... won the election and made Malta an EU member state - and as result of this Dr.Muscat like the other contestants was democratically elected by the people to become an MEP like the others. There is nothing wrong with this I hope.
As for my last sentence about experience, which you seemed to like so much , this is dedicated to all those including - MYSELF , who have the courage to admit that life is a continuous learning curve.
There is no harm at all in making an examination of concience - unless one is too proud, self centered and big headed to think one does not need to do so.
Whoever thinks that experience is enough is totaly wrong.
Whoever appreciates that experience is an asset to combine with knowledge is on the right track.
I sincerely believe that Dr Muscat has the qualities to unite the different factions within Labour, to give a new direction to the Labour media, to work closely with all the other contenders. I'm sure many Nationalist will not bother if he is elected as PM in 5yrs time.
Dr Muscat needs someone as Evarist Bartolo as his deputy - a person who has experience and who can also reach out to the middle-classes. Mr. Bartolo's success (repeated success since 1992!) in two of the nationalist party's fortress districts is a proof!
Finally the sun seems to be rising for Labour.
Whilst I have every respect for all contetants, I think it is only Joseph Muscat who has so for demonstrated maturity and leadership. Notwithstanding he is continously being the target of 'friends' and foe like, Muscat has never reacted against anyone of them and continously reiterated his stand that he is very willing to ask all other candidates to form part of his team if he is elected leader.
In the meantime he comes out suggesting various proposals on how to change the party into a winning one.
None of the others has done the same so far.
To all the Labour Supporters:
Stop picking on eachother. LET US UNITE UNDER ONE LEADER.
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG . IF WE ARE UNITED THE PN WILL FEAR US SO LET`S NOT PLAY THEIR GAME.
Our ONLY opponent should be not ourselves but the PN .
I feel hurt on three accounts and this has nothing to do personally with you:
*With all the modern concept and structures we tried to sell our strategy to the electorate, we finished losing three consecutive general elections. Why?
*We paid-up members seem doomed to be denied the chance to have our say in the election of the new MLP leader. Please do not take refuge of what the Nationalist Party is set to do in electing its new Secretary General and all. I just ask, is it possible that our structures are so weak that we cannot give a chance to the paid-up members in the June 5 election for the new leader? In the past the MLP was such a strong party that withstood a lot of opposition, but now it seems we cannot even solve the problem of logistics(!?)
*Somebody way back in 1998 warned the delegates that we were rushing in, where angels fears to tread.
A lot of spinning has been around this person since that day. There was some big head in the adminstration that publicly expressed that he was not welcome in the headquarters of his own party and the delegates would belittle him (not to say redicule him), if he dared moving on as contender.
Joseph we were since time immemorial convinced members of the Socialist Group, but our confused and erratic strategy regarding the European Union membership sort of made us look as if we did not form part of the Socialist group anymore.
Joseph, as a true friend, though you know I opt (for now) for another person as leader, did we have to lose three general elections to be aware how fruitful the vision you are proposing would have been to the party had we taken your proposed course, earlier?
I must admit that I too was fooled for quite a while into thinking that the MLP ( and it seems the majority of our party delegates,because they endorsed all that was proposed to them) was in the right direction, but unfortunately the electorate showed us plainly that we were not.
But as they say, better late than never and if you cannot beat them, join them.
Just one appeal to whoever may be the leader following the June 5th election, look around you and realize that there is abundant talent within the MLP. Be wise enough to make the best use of it so maybe finally we will have an electable party.
It seems to me that the only political attribute you are attaching to Dr Michael Falzon is his track record of disaccosiating himself from Alfred Sant. Wow! That would attract lots of floaters and new votes!
You know what is politics of opportunism : to keep your place as deputy leader when you are contesting for a leadership post at the same time! Ooops sorry that's not opportunism; it's conflict of interest.
When Dr Falzon demonstrates political substance, when Dr Falzon practices (not preaches) inclusivity and when Dr Falzon starts believing that not everybody under the sun is against him, then people start believing he could be leadership material.
But until then, he remains an experienced organiser.
And let me remind you even the erstwhile Dr Joe Brincat was elected in last election riding on incumbent wave of the deputy leader position......this time round he got a handful of votes.
All Maltese should be proud to read that "Dr. Joseph Muscat states the MLP would be a convinced member of the EU family of socialist parties". That is the difference between both parties!! PN stopped at the referendum, MLP decided to move forward!! In fact, MLP swept the electoral rug from under the PN's feet and claimed 3 of the 5 MEP seats. How ironic!!
And I guess Dr Muscat would be glad to read that he made improvement ... not only to himself but also to Malta. If you would like to get informed about what Malta acquired through EU membership, get into his website & you will be glad that DR MUSCAT was elected as an MEP!!
It is not the blue flags with yellow stars that make you European!! That is the PN campaign. EU was oversold as some sort of magic wand. Look at what hunters are saying nowadays for example, and you will understand what I mean.
Dr Muscat's campaign is totally different and with him in government, Malta will be able to be European from within.
With regards to the last sentence, were you doing some sort of conscience exam?
Michael Falzon? Correct me if im wrong but he was and still is the Deputy Leader for Party Affairs right? He forms part of the LEADERSHIP that FAILED. And now he wants to lead the Party? Give me a break. He wants to reform the Party? Why now and not 5 years ago? I tell you why. Because he spent his time canvassing to get elected as an MP. Because he spent his time dreaming on leading the Party himself instead of reforming the Party. To add insult to injury, he promised the delegates 5 years ago that he would reform the party and make it more open and inclusive. HE FAILED AGAIN.
It was falzon that was delivering a public speech everyday and not muscat.Not to mention the mass meetings circus.
I also remember that when there was a feature on the times "a day with sant", falzon was in a photo with an underneath caption saying "strategy time". So he was the one involved in strategy.
If Labour wants to become an alternative I ask them to vote for young modern progressive vision. I'm sure all candidates have something to offer. They all have to pull the same rope. Dear Mr. Xuereb you do not impress anyone apart from die-hard PN gurus by saying that Joseph Muscat = Alfred Sant.
You accuse these people of wanting Status Quo? I am not a delegate. I have no role or authority in the MLP. I am simply a 21 year old Maltese student. And you think I want things to remain the same? I feel most comfortable with J. Muscat who can bring about this change. Good luck J. Muscat.
The only two persons who where never Sant's puppets are Falzon and Abela.
Labour delegates need to chose a leader that is able to provide a different style of leadership from that of Alfred Sant, and of being able to truly attract floating voters and core Labourite voters at the same time. A leader that has always stuck with his principles and that has never abandoned the party in moments of distress. This one candidate is Michael Falzon. Michael will offer that desperately needed difference in leadership style. He has political experience within the Labour Party and now has been elected in Parliament from two completely different district - the second district that is the hub of the Labour Party and the tenth which is one of the hubs of the PN. In both cases being the labour candidate with the highest number of votes within the Labour List. Michael can for sure never be called a puppet of Dr. Sant and this is what people have to evaluate. He was always with the party in difficult times and never tried to escape or hide when there was a barrage of attacks against the party. What he has done for sure is to build his own political career without opportunism not like one particular candidate that was constantly pushed by the previous leader and that till a few years ago claimed that he would never get into politics.
If we want to do politics of opportunism the choice is simple. But if we want to do serious politics that will disassociate itself from that of Alfred Sant and lead us to victory then the choice is no other than Michael Falzon.
It is only thanks to Malta's membership in the EU that Dr.Muscat became MEP.
It is only Thanks to a PN Govt for fighting and winning over the storm of opposition coming from MLP including Dr. Muscat and succeeded in making Malta a full EU member- Otherwise Dr.Muscat would NOT have been MEP today.
It seems Dr. Muscat has his ideas matured when compared to what he used to say during his time as Super One journalist. Good improvement.
This all goes to show that - yes - experience in life has much more value than many might think.
The main disadvantage experience might have is to render a person thinking that he only knows what is right and what is wrong.
@ Mr. Mizzi: Age does indeed play an important role since we need an Alternative Prime Minister NOW and not in five years' time! Both Dr. Abela and Dr. Muscat have two issues in common which need addressing publicly now: Apart from the age issue, there is the issue of the parliamentary seat and whilst I (and others) have raised this in context of the Constitution, no one has bothered to come out with a meaningful answer to it.
Perhaps, the most appropriate statement so far was Mr Muscat's intention to take all the others on board and assign leading roles, if he is elected. This is what the MLP needs, unity!
It is just so nice of John Schembri to augur Labour at least another three decades of the services of Dr. Joseph Muscat. It also augurs so well for Malta.
Is Mr. John Schembri a Knowitall with his comments on Dr. Joseph Muscat stating that he has the aura of a Mr. Knowitall and also being too young for a leader? Who is this John Schembri ? Has he ever voted for the M.L.P in any past elections, is he an M.L.P. delegate or member? For which candidate would John Schembri's give his preference?
There are many so called opinionists who are so free with their opinions on who is to be the new M.L.P leader, but are these suggestions and recommendations really made in the interests of the M.L.P ?
Dr. Muscat has more than proofed his oats in the positions entrusted to him both within the M.L.P., locally and internationally as an M.E.P. His track record is proof enough of his capabilities and I just snigger that the only criticism made on Dr. Muscat is that he is too young. Well one thing is for sure not get younger , certainly older and wiser.
Any such comments are of pure envy at the promise of giving Labour a revamped look with a positive vision and direction.
Dr. Muscat has always used his seat in the E.U to go after Malta National interests and his contribution towards the abolition on unfair taxes imposed locally like Satellite dish tax, and the VAT on Car registration.
But I doubt whether George Abela would wish to take second place this time round.....
He alone can tell us
Why not set up the leadership trident - say Abela+Muscat+Bartolo (equal secret votes between them)
they all have distict positive qualities - say that they want the best for Malta - and will hold their own personal ambitions in check between them, knowing that together the party they represent cannot be stronger.
As to decisions, they can meet together, discuss and plan strategies and policies.
The PN brainwashers are sure to scratch their heads
They mean business.
I will be happy with whoever wins.
Unfortunately only one of them has to be the winner. So what about a dream ticket? The loser working as deputy leader with the winner?
If Ms. Caruana's is the sort of profound analysis that delegates within the MLP are making, then we are really doomed as a Party.
Firing statements and labels in a complex leadership election where each candidate has various merits and demerits does nothing but do a disservice to the MLP and the country.
The truth of the matter is that unless the MLP gets it right this time round, democracy in Malta is in jeopardy as we could be looking at creating a democratically elected one-party state in Europe!
Otherwise nothing will change and Malta will keep lagging behind our European competitors.