Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday said he was pleased with the MLP delegates' choice of deputy leaders and insisted that their political baggage would not hinder his efforts to form a winning team.
"Everyone has baggage. What is wrong with that? There is no politician who does not have political baggage. This is not a problem and I look forward to working with them as I have already started doing," Dr Muscat said when contacted.
"From day one of the election campaign, the Nationalist Party media spoke about the Labour Party machine and how I, Chris (Cardona) and Gavin (Gulia) were the chosen ones. Friday's election disproves this theory. The party delegates have a mind of their own and they used it," he said.
Anġlu Farrugia, deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, and Toni Abela, deputy leader for party affairs, were each elected with almost 65 per cent of the vote on Friday night.
When contacted, Dr Cardona and Dr Gulia both said they were "not at all disappointed" with the result and that they believed the choice was a good one.
Dr Cardona and Dr Gulia said they were satisfied with the votes they managed to garner and the support extended to them by the party delegates.
"This was the first time I contested such an election and 35 per cent of the votes is quite a lot, considering I'm only 35 years old. The choice was a good one and in the party's interest," Dr Cardona said.
Similarly, Dr Gulia said: "I am satisfied with the show I managed to put up. I assure Dr Abela, Dr Farrugia and my leader of my full backing and cooperation and will continue to serve the party as an MP."
However, Labour Party sources said the choice was causing some concern at the Mile End headquarters because they are seen as a threat to the fresh look that Dr Muscat is seeking to inject into the party.
Dr Abela is a left winger and had held the post of party president when he was just 29. He hit the headlines when together with Wenzu Mintoff, he was kicked out of the Labour Party in the 1980s for criticising elements of the administration. He then helped set up Alternattiva Demokratika but eventually returned to the Labour fold.
Dr Farrugia also has a colourful past. He was a police superintendent until he qualified as a lawyer. A Parliamentarian since 1996, he has never held a ministerial post but was opposition spokesman for justice in the last legislature. He was unsuccessful in the election for MLP deputy leader in 1998 and unsuccessfully contested Alfred Sant for the leadership in 2003.
Dr Farrugia's recent claims on vote-buying in the last general election are seen to have helped him win delegates' backing.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the Labour Party said that Dr Muscat had held a 'very cordial' meeting with the four contenders for the leadership post - George Abela, Michael Falzon, Evarist Bartolo and Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.
According to the statement, all four agreed to help Dr Muscat achieve his vision of a new political season for the party and the country. It also said that Dr Muscat had started holding individual meetings with the Labour Parliamentary Group.