Former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff yesterday turned up, somewhat unexpectedly, at a public meeting held by Labour Party leadership contestant George Abela, and expressed his support for him.
Mr Mintoff, 91, arrived at Ir-Razzett l-Antik in Qormi before Dr Abela and sat in the front row, flanked by Dr Abela's father.
During the meeting, Mr Mintoff seemed engrossed listening attentively to what Dr Abela was saying. During question time, he got hold of the microphone, walked up to Dr Abela and spoke on a variety of subjects, occasionally stopped by loud cheers and applause from the audience.
The former MLP leader's voice was frail and at one point he said his hearing aid was being used by the police to keep track of his whereabouts.
Referring to a previous speech by Dr Abela, about what had really been said on outgoing MLP leader Alfred Sant's proposal to call an early election in 1998, Mr Mintoff said he had not attended the meeting to see whether Dr Abela was right or wrong but just to ensure he (Dr Abela) achieved his aims. He said he wanted to see Malta to be at least as good as other nations.
Following a long standing ovation, Dr Abela greeted Mr Mintoff as "an honoured guest". He said he was proud to be addressing workers on the eve of Labour Day, a sacred day for Labourites.
Dr Abela expressed his regret that the party was not united and that factions and cliques were still the order of the day. These cliques, he noted, were even working against him because it was from the "party machine" and the "inner circles" that he was getting most opposition to his candidature.
"We cannot produce good, new wine if we use old barrels and it's no use putting an old jacket on a new face. We have to start from scratch and do away with these factions," he said.
Dr Abela said he had not disclosed anything new when he had said that the MLP in office in 1997 had been considering a change in its policy on the EU. The issue was discussed internally and informally, he said. They had spoken on "convergence" and Dr Sant had also written a position paper about it.
Dr Abela also referred to what George Vella, who at the time was Foreign Minister, had said, that such discussions did not take place. The best thing Dr Vella could do was to say he was not involved in the talks but he could not really contradict him. Not even Dr Sant could contradict him and, indeed, Dr Sant should "say the whole truth", Dr Abela added.
With regard to talks on a pairing agreement in Parliament, Dr Abela described as "a joke" the Prime Minister's proposal for Labour to choose a Speaker from its benches, which would give the government a two-seat majority.
Dr Abela said he has the credentials to lead the party, adding: "My past is a guarantee for the future, yours and that of the party."
He praised Acting Labour Leader Charles Mangion for retaining "equidistance" from the leadership candidates.
During question time, former MLP secretary general Dominic Fenech said the MLP should publish a report compiled by veteran journalist Godfrey Grima following the 2003 general election defeat.