Abela says he was asked to withdraw nomination

George Abela, who is running for leader of the Labour Party, said yesterday that "an influential person" within the party had attempted to persuade him to withdraw his nomination and in return the party would nominate him as President of Malta.

Interviewed on the TVM programme Dissett, Dr Abela said not all five candidates nominated may remain in the race by the time the election is held on June 5.

He indicated that, if he were elected, he would not remain party leader for more than 10 years. He never occupied any position for more than 10 years, Dr Abela told the interviewer.

Dr Abela, 60, said age should not be an obstacle to him becoming leader. Experience would help him make more mature decisions in his assiduous and intensive commitment to ensure that the MLP would be in government in four to five years' time.

Saying he had always believed that Malta's place was in the European Union, Dr Abela said that, once Labour was elected to government in 1996, his job was to see what the freezing of Malta's application meant and what its repercussions would be.

He said the MLP had started informal discussions to change its position on EU membership. A paper had also been prepared and the issue was discussed internally with (then Prime Minister) Alfred Sant. It had been decided that the position should be to go for EU membership together with the Nationalist Party. Then Foreign Minister George Vella had not been present for these talks, he said.

On the General Workers' Union, Dr Abela admitted that efforts were being made for his relations with the union to be normalised. Asked whether the union should have a privileged position, he replied that neither the GWU nor any other union should be privileged. "The privileged should be the workers," he said.