Tuesday, 20th May 2008 - 08:24CET
Leakage of information 'poisoned' electoral process - Bartolo
Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said today that the leakage of details about the MLP delegates to a newspaper had 'poisoned' the process for the election of the Labour leadership by trying to condition the delegates.
In a statement Mr Bartolo also insisted that he would stay in the race for MLP leader and was not interested in the post of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs.
Mr Bartolo said he was reacting to rumours aimed at losing him the support of Labour delegates and forcing him to back out of the race.
Among other things, according to the rumours, he was not really interested in becoming leader but wanted to be deputy leader.
Mr Bartolo said that had he been interested in becoming deputy leader, he would have declared himself a candidate for that position.
If he was not elected leader, he would not seek any other position but would continue to serve the MLP and his constituents, Mr Bartolo said.
He said he would continue to convey the message of unity, viewing the five leadership contenders as the five fingers on the same hand. With unity and careful work in Parliament and beyond, a firm opposition would be able to shorten the life of a government which had 'stolen' the last election through a campaign of lies and favours but which was still continuing to govern in an incompetent and arrogant way, he said.
Mr Bartolo also condemned the leakage of the details of MLP delegates to enable a newspaper to carry out a "supposed" survey on voting intentions. What had happened not only exposed the delegates to vindictiveness, but it also 'poisoned' the electoral process by trying to manipulate and condition the delegates instead of allowing them to make a free choice, the Labour MP said.
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Forget the surveys, the polls and whatever. Certainly the delegates deemed it is within their sole right to elect the new leader of the Malta Labour Party on June 5. I respect the verdict of the majority, even though I happened to have been all out in favour of paid-up members being part of those electing the said leader.
So a survey, which allegedly was called very dubious, unfair and maybe vitiated the electoral process. was held. 270 delegatesopenly expressed whom they will be backing for new leader.
The survey in itself caused an earthquake in the CNL, maybe a preview of shape of things to come when the much fancied leader in this survey takes over the helm of the MLP.
I just ask one simple question. Considering all, as paid up members, does logistical hitches, bar us from having full details of the delegates, locality by locality, in the website of the MLP?
If this information was available, certainly a simple poll would not have caused such havoc. Maybe this would be the first step toward the eternally waiting up of 'bidu gdid'.
I must admit though that these tactics smell of Alfred Sant's election as leader. Expect an anonymous letter to the Great Wise Man (alias for Board of Vigilance and Discipline - remember those 3 men in shorts and short sleeve shirts during the Mintoff -Sant debacle?
Still have 3 possibles on my list although one seems to be leading simply by a process of deduction from what is going on in this leadership election.
If polls poison electoral results, every electoral result in the world is poisoned. Labour, it's just a poll. Get over it.
• Delegates 900 – representing 19000 paid up members.
• Extended voting rights to the paid up members 165 for: 620 against.
• Remaining 120000 who voted Labour- what is their view and preference.
• Percentage participation for the MLP leader from Labour sympathisers(assuming that all 900 delegates voted labour) - 6.4%
Facts- or Strategy?
Dr.Sant is convinced that the strategists who were responsible for the party election programme and the party organisation are not to blame for the MLP election loss. Rumours and letters are flying around giving the wrong impression about certain candidates who are contesting the leader ship!
Bets:
It seems that away players are doing better than others.
PS. Will the Election Defeat Report, prove or refute the above Facts -Strategy?
Conclusion!
Déjà Vu 1992 & 2003.
Philosophy:
Che Sera Sera
2) The PN gave pairing and agreed to it on 2 December 1996. That the Pn did not give pairing is a BIG FAT LIE!!
3) the PN got 1,500 votes more, whether that is too little or not is not the argument: the PN has a RELATIVE MAJORITY, anything that goes against the spirit of democracy is undemocratic i.e. those here who wish or hope ( because thats what they're telling them to believe now!!) that the PN is toppled by what seems to be an injection of extreme bitterness is undemocratic!!!
Is the "defeat" report going to be published or not? If not, why ?? and before anyone says ".....ghax tal-PN..." may I remind you that the PN is not some democratic benchmark!! Unless the MLP's only ambition is not to become another PN
These words coming from Mr.Evarist Bartolo need serious thought.
1) What does he mean by the word 'beyond' ? Does it mean hindering foreign investment, hindering govt MPs from attending international fora by refusing pairing , shedding a false impression to foreigners that Malta is not ideal to invest in and financially unstable , telling foreigners that the present government is illegitimate?
2) What does he mean by the words ''....'stolen' the last election...'
These are serious allegations going around the world.
3) '.....Shorten the life of this government...' in what way and by what means may one ask ?
Is Dr. Gonzi, the Maltese Prime Minister going to react to such statements ?
Is Mr. Bartolo really aiming for a high rank position within the Malta Labour Party and hope to lead the party to a victory using such tactics ????
How about a nice long Vodka?
Or would you rather soak in Caqnu?
What is dubious is the seriousness of the survey. When you have a base as small as 900 you make a total sample not a supposedly random sample. Coming from a media which seems on a crusade to elect JM as leader the scientific validity of the survey is very questionable.
The British have a saying........'What goes around comes around' and don't be so confident that you will stay for the whole stretch. A new leader, a competent leader can definitely rip apart your stronghold on power!!!
The time will come..........................SOON!!!
Family comes second.
Personal gain comes third.
Country's best interest comes in a distant fourth!
Way to go MLP !
you ask why? It`s obvious. Instead of showing leadership, substance and vision, their only way to make the headlines is to accuse others of playing dirty tricks.
No wonder Dr George Abela and Dr. Joseph Muscat are the front runners. They are leaders, not followers, they are positive, not negative, they are winners, not loosers. They are the future, not the past
Another thing, I do not know what the The Times hopes to gain by publishing a POLL asking it's readers " Who would you like to win the MLP Leadership Election ". It's not the readers of the Times who are going to vote for the MLP Leadership but the MLP Delegates.
If a motion is sensibly evaluated with good faith contributions and constructive criticism, then the parliamentarians - who have been voted to represent the electorate and secured a hefty pension – are expected to use their grey matter and vote with clear conscience in our common best interest.
If they are incapable of doing this, then it’s about time we overhaul our electoral system to ensure that individuals with the right credentials get a fair opportunity to be elected, independently on which party ticket they are on.
As far as I know, all Labour delegates are proud of their colour and creed. So, what's the fuss?
otherwise let us get on with the business of living stress free PLEASE. ONE QUESTION: WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD YOU BEEN ELECTED? That is what the non-labour people who voted for you are saying. THANK GOD.
Perhaps you ought not to be so triumphant. International relations might suffer but PN will retain their rightful majority in parliament. I would therefore guess that your contentment refers to the non-participation of Malta at the meeting of the Home Affairs Ministers .
As usual the MLP is only interested in power and personal gain. As in countless previous occasions it has proven that it does not give any importance to the country's interests.
Do you think this is some kind of football match against PN? Every decision taken affects the country, the people, the economy. But who cares about that?
MLP will do anything to bring the government down, even if it damages Malta in the process.
I may add another factor that helped GonziPn regain power: back scratching. Yes indeed, democracy has a different definition for your likes. The seeds of hate and spite were always and still are the PN's tools. So please do not attribute, what belongs to the PN since its existence ,to the MLP. Historical facts cannot be changed by your likes.
Anyway, I hope and pray that real democracy would finally overpower the 'deceitful democracy'
that we are presently living with. We have already sampled such 'decietful democracy' during the last few days after the general elections.
What a shame it would be if we have to live this for 5 years. But I am convinced it won't be. The dark clouds that are covering our nation would soon turn into a storm that would carry with it all evils we live in at the moment.
Truth would reign soon. Very Soon.
apparently turning down a request for pairing is very democratic if the pn in opposition do it (1996-1998).
@ a farrugia.
arrogance is trying to steamroll over the opposition after promising to be a govt of the maltese for all the maltese.!!!
Carry on Labour! It seems this party never learns and is guaranteeing itself to the Opposition benches.
I am questioning how the Labour Party is going to 'win' the support of people like me - in the 30's age bracket who are old enough to remember the dark ages of Malta and are mature enough to see the differences now. Especially in the light of these developments in the party.
I think the very fundamental reason why the Nationalist Party is in Government is the fact that they are a party of 'Yes' while the Labour Party is somewhere between 'No' and 'Erm, ah, duh, imma wait ta'.
While I believe that there needs to be a decent opposition, and one that will work with the Govt for the better good of the country, I fail to see how saying no to everything does this - like pairing, perfect example!
Please grow up MLP
It is public knowledge now that yesterday, the MLP turned down request for pairing. Thus, Malta is to miss 5+5 meeting.
Malta will not be represented at a meeting of the Home Affairs Ministers of the 5+5 countries on Wednesday after the Opposition refused to grant pairing to the government for a vote in Parliament.
The vote will conclude the debate on an address in reply to the address by the President at the State Opening of Parliament.The 5+5 groups France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauretania and Morocco. The meeting is due to be held in Mauretania.
Tonio Borg, Leader of the House, speaking at the first meeting of the House Business Committee this evening asked the Opposition if it could, at least, pair Justice and Home Afffairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici. But Opposition whip Joe Mizzi said the Opposition had already decided there would be no pairing on this vote.
Pairing in an informal arrangement where members of the Opposition are ‘paired’ with members of the government and will not vote if the government MPs are away on official business.
The government has a majority of only one in Parliament and therefore needs all its MPs to be present whenever a vote is to be taken.
Prior to the convening of Parliament the Opposition had said it would consider requests for pairing on a case by case basis until a decision is taken after the new leadership of the MLP is elected.
Well done!