UPDATED: MLP general secretary election: Jimmy Magro comes out against his successor

m.portelli

Aug 5th 2008, 16:31

"An anonymous email circulated just hours before the election carried a photo of Mr Micallef with party leader Joseph Muscat with a caption reading that the party needs a general secretary who is loyal to the leader, rather than one who is "a lackey" of the Nationalist Party it continued, under a photo showing Mr Grixti with Nationalist TV presenter Pierre Portelli during an interview on Net TV" TOM
That's the stuff ethical paragons are made of ! Seems its become common practice lately notice a pattern somewhere?

E.Grima

Aug 5th 2008, 08:56

Thank you Jimmy Magro for ensuring Jason's position. Jealousy gets people nowhere!!! Thanks again!

David Gatt

Aug 5th 2008, 07:13

@Ivan Camilleri

Since when are you giving good advices to the MLP?

Peter Bonnici

Aug 4th 2008, 20:26

@charles marsh : are you trying to portray the MLP as some champion of Democracy ? What a joke ! Well perhaps if you were born in the 90's but guys like me know what the MLP is made of, and the core is still the same. So much so that since 1981, bar a couple of years, the MLP never enjoyed a majority. That in itself speaks volumes doesn't it?

As for the PN, who cares? I'm not involved. But they did have some internal elections recently didn't they? and there was none of all this venom.

Sergio Galea Vincenti

Aug 4th 2008, 16:21

I have had the privilege to work with both Marie Louise Coleiro and also Jimmy Magro during their tenure as Secretary General of the MLP and I consider Joe Vella Bonnici, Keith Grech and my good friend Alfred Grixti to be very solid choices for the post. I always considered Jason Micallef as out of his league when I compare him to these people.

As I have posted here in the past, I am not one who can say to be happy with the choice of leadership the delegates have made and it is especially in this light that I believe that the new Secretary General should be a person with the necessary substance and experience to, on the one hand, provide the leadership needed within the administration of the Party but, on the other, to also support fully the leadership - and especially Dr. Muscat - in the challenges ahead.

Regarding the various flippant comments of PN sympathisers, I can only echo what Charles Marsh has said and add that the MLP should never be underestimated: Be it in opposition or government, it has always managed to learn from its mistakes and strive to do better for Malta.

Ivan Camilleri

Aug 4th 2008, 16:05

@Charles Marsh
Pls enough with such comments!!! What was that? Do you want me to start mentioning all people who were dismissed or forced to do so when they didn't exactly feel or act along the party's lines?? Do you know that the past electoral campaign was led from just 5 people, & whoever tried to help was turned down? Even Joseph Muscat himself was deemed unnecessary from you know who, & the list goes on.....Wenzu Mintoff etc etc. At least the nationalists adopt systems which work, i prefer havin 50 SERIOUS voters & the end result brings victories for the PN, (history backs me up here), rather than 900 puppets voting conditionally for some pre-destined official.......result : defeat after defeat after defeat!!!!!!!

charles marsh

Aug 4th 2008, 14:39

@ Peter Bonnici : At least within the labour party everybody can speak openly and freely. In your party You are all censored and have to do what The party tells you. We are not a dictatorship in the MLP, but we can express ourselves freely. And by the way we elect a Secretary General by 900 delegates not by the 50 chosen ones!!!

Ray Gatt

Aug 4th 2008, 13:13

Clayton Luke Mula - the people spoke last March. That's called democracy. As for SKADUT - well your English is! Where did you get 'the word with Maltese' from? Is it Mula or Mule? And please do not come out and say it was a misprint (rings a bell), cause it's obvious that what you did was direct translation since in Maltese we say 'il-kelma bil-Malti'.

New beginning? Anglu Farrugia and Toni Abela. You've got to be kidding.

As for Jason Micallef - well just kick him out. He's arrogant and a sad loser just like Sant.

C. Calleja - Jason is very recent past. Michael Catania tells us so JM made some mistakes. Wake up and smell the coffee Mr. Catania.

For those who are slating Jimmy for his comments, his input during his time was far better than Jason's, which incidentally is almost NIL. Is Jason not the one who was caught on tape saying when the MLP is in office, it will only be there for labourites or socialists or whatever you call yourselves these days. Is he not the one who said that his Election calculations differed from the ones of Joe Saliba.

Enough said.

jimmy magro

Aug 4th 2008, 10:52

@Michael Catania. I do not have any sour grapes. I buy my grapes fresh from leading supermarkets and the quality has always been fine. To tell you the truth I prefer black grapes too.
Sour grapes when other leading MLP figures - such as Evarist Bartolo, Leo Brincat, Mario Vella, and many others I have spoken to - have all come out publicly to express the same view. My only interest is the MLP. I have no interest in taking any positions but I believe in democracy and altaernative governments - MLP cannot lose another election.
I hope I have made my argument clear.

Joe Galea

Aug 4th 2008, 07:54

Yes, it's not nice that members of the same party criticise each other in public. However, with the greatest fear that the delegates will vote Jason Micallef back as Gen Sec, then I agree that these criticisms are made public. Those who are doing these claims and criticisms want their party to move forward and not get stuck by sheer arrogance, incompetence and ignorance, manifested widely by Jason Micallef.

As Labour supporter I beg the delegates not to make the biggest mistake in the MLP history i.e. to vote for Jason. We got the ball rolling in the right direction with the new leadership, don't stop it now and forever with Jason.

Jason Micallef is a threat to the party, there are much more valid contestants to vote for. Open your minds, there exists no 2nd chance for those who have failed big time. Jason Micallef has failed on all fronts. The only thing he succeeded in is to repel as many people from the party as possible.

P Vella

Aug 4th 2008, 07:21

We have made grave mistakes in the past but we cannot make a mistake on the crucial Sec Gen position. We are now faced with the decision to elect an intelligent, dynamic and experienced man like Jason Micallef or a new, not so dynamic contender like Joe Vella Bonnici or Alfred Grixti. In my opinion, we need a fresh start within our party and the only man who is capable of taking the right decisions and implementing them is Jason Micallef. Joseph Muscat needs Jason and so does the country. Please use your heads like I will be using this evening and elect the man with the energy, drive and personality - Jason Micallef.

David Gatt

Aug 4th 2008, 02:57

@Clayton Luke Mula

You've got it upside down. AS used to say 'those who are not against us are with us", which is very different in meaning from what you tried to make us beleive.

As regards the General Secretary race, I don't have anything against jason Micallef, nor Alfred Grixti. Jimmy Magro had chosen not to re-contest the election and his accusations are not proven in any way, so I don't beleive them.

Edwin Formosa

Aug 4th 2008, 01:41

Dr Bezzina, I agree with only one line of your sermon :"Let the people decide and our representatives MUST follow our Directives." i.e. REFERENDUM.

A. Vella

Aug 3rd 2008, 23:56

Don't make us laugh Jimmy ! Has your toughts been the same when you was General Secretary when we lost elections back in 1992 ,1998 & 2003? You always contested for the post and never said that there was a need of change. All I say leave the delegates to make their choice and of all people you are telling whom to vote now?

G.Caruana

Aug 3rd 2008, 23:09

If I were a delegate I would vote for Joe Vella Bonnici. He's the only one without any past baggage / klikka within the party. JVB is academically qualified, has managerial experience, is well read and he's reachable. Unlike JVB, Jason is an arrogant loser, has absolutely no academic background, has not managed to revive party structures, spearheaded an election defeat which labour could never lose, took wrong decisions, created factions within the party and was always seen out-of-office accompanying A.Sant instead of doing what he was supposed to do.

Peter Bonnici

Aug 3rd 2008, 23:05

Seems to me that all this back stabbing, media leaks, character asassination attempts, block votes, you name it, are practically worse than the disgusting General Election campaign we had earlier this year.

But then again. This is Labour. A party that up to 5 months was aspiring to run the country, when it cannot even run itself.

Reminds me so much of those infamous 16 years, and another miserable 2.

Michael Catania

Aug 3rd 2008, 22:22

Why all this campaining against Jason Micallef. With Jimmy Magro coming out strongly against JM, I feel its a case of sour grapes. I do not know either of the persons so I can only go by what i see in the media. OK so Jason made some mistakes but then who is perfect . He is a very enthusiastic person and thats what the Party needs. My opinion is that he will make a better Secretary General now that he has the experience behind him . He has never pussy footed up to the conservatives. Its time that the Delegates realize that being nice does not get you too far these days. if I was a delagate I would not hesitate to keep Jason M icallef as Secretary General of the Party.

Kenneth Cutajar

Aug 3rd 2008, 22:14

If for Mr Calleja, Jason is the future of MLP, than I am sorry the future is dull. Can Mr. Calleja explain any positive results attained by Jason. What about his cv, ie work experience and academic qualifications? All the other 3 have a better cv and far better leadership qualities. If the other 3 are hopeless, what is Jason? As I said before, only those with personal gain would vote for this Jason, so if he is reelected,than the stagun politiku gdid does not exist as Jason would be the safest but not the wisest bet for the leadership. Than Jason represents the past, dear Mr. Calleja. His continuous faults especially when the MLP had lost the election and on Xarabank make him Jason l-iskadut and who is free from bias would show him the door as No Ma rriduhx.

C Calleja

Aug 3rd 2008, 21:44

Not electing micallef would be a suicide for the mlp, not because micallef is a superstar but because the other 2 'serious' contenders are hopeless in my opinion.

Micallef is the only one who can really back muscat. with toni abela and anglu farrugia deputy leaders i would not go for grixti or jvb, i want a party for the future and not the past.

Kenneth Cutajar

Aug 3rd 2008, 21:21

Only people with personal gain would vote for Jason Micallef. Eveyone could see his performance over the years and him contesting only confirms his arrogance and to my standards lack of self respect. He has been the laughing stock of the MLP ( or PN asset) together with Dr. Sant for the past years. Sant lacked charisma and tact but this Jason also lacks any form of common sense or wit.

Clayton Luke Mula

Aug 3rd 2008, 21:08

I have to back Mr. Magro cos he's saying the very truth about the incumbent Jason Micallef.

The Former Leader of the Malta Labour Party Dr. Alfred Sant sometimes said 'those who aren't with us are against us'. Jason Micallef is one of them, for me Mr. Micallef is like the Nationalist Party and the Nationalists: the word with Maltese is SKADUT.

Our Party want a new Secretary General so we continue our new beginning with the Leadership Dr. Joseph Muscat, Dr. Anglu Farrugia and Dr. Toni Abela.

J Martinelli

Aug 3rd 2008, 21:01

Dr. Bezzina - those cosmic rays you so frequently mention must be overcharging your imagination!

If our parliamentarians have to be guided by comments on some blogs, heaven help us!

I think that the Summer heat calls for another cruise, but not with the other seven who had a problem with the ship's telephone system.

mark causon

Aug 3rd 2008, 20:52

Without going into the merits of what Jason or Jimmy earned while they served as secretary general of the MLP. I believe that now is the time for change, Jason gave his contribution to the party, but now it is the time for him to go and let the party delegates deciede on a new secretary general who with the new leadership will bring about change and a new mentality that the labour party is ready to govern and not stay on the opposition benches.

Joe Vella

Aug 3rd 2008, 20:40

With all this love within the MLP,. what one needs more.

Leonard Gauci

Aug 3rd 2008, 20:13

Emmy, don't you feel that OMEGA would be more appropriate?

James Sultana

Aug 3rd 2008, 19:15

Dottor Bezzina, given that according to you : (a) blogs like these have a lot of power (they solved the strike issue ... pity they didn`t solve the illegal immigrants one) and (b) Let the People decide and our representatives MUST follow our Directives ....

so..

(a) why didn`t your Alpha use a similar medium to get out of the static mediocrity it has been stuck in for ages practically stopping its growth in Beta mode ?

(b) why don`t you take the people`s "advice" in the election results ?

We remember your sermons on TV ... full of Italian words and "difficult" terms to make us feel as if we are an inferior race. Now all of a sudden you have started swinging from one side to the other praising and wishing well both sides of the political spectrum.

Please, let both parties decide on who they want with what methods they want ..at least they are parties with structures AND MEMBERS ! Or maybe with these sermons, aimed at being nice to both sides you are planning yet another adventure after MLP, Men`s Rights and Alpha ? Opportunism? Showcasing? Boh!!

K Falzon

Aug 3rd 2008, 18:47

As a PN voter in the last elections I really hope that the MLP gives Jason Micallef the flick so that it can can continue to regenerate itself. There is no room amongst our two major parties for the sheer arrogance of this man. It is evident that Jason Micallef's arrogance knows no bounds - as can be seen from his response to Jimmy Magro. Do this country one massive favour and just bow out gracefully and let us have a party that we can one day see ourselves vote for!

J Farrugia

Aug 3rd 2008, 18:23

emmy bezzina is out of sinc.....the less he speaks the more he gains in substance.

j agius

Aug 3rd 2008, 17:43

without in any way going into the polemic between Jimmy and Jason, it is very strange that Jimmy speaks of 'arrogance' on the part of Jason. Ii know personally both persons. I was for thirty years involved in the party, occupied different positions, worked under Jimmy
and was a work mate with Jason.
Jimmy, please come clean. Don't speak of arrogance, you don't have to be spiteful. Just say you wish Jason to be cleared out. Jason may be much younger than you but he has done a good job, notwithstanding a couple of lapsus as of late, which we are all prone to do at times when working under pressure and tension.
Wish you luck Jason. May the best candidate, however, in the interest of the Party, gets the seat.

Michael Andrews

Aug 3rd 2008, 17:16

If there is one word in the whole of the English dictionaray to describe Jason Micallef, then ARROGANT must top the list for sure.
The Labour Party will do well to elect a new General Secretary as they did when they chose a new Leader of the party.

Vincent Galea

Aug 3rd 2008, 17:10

After hearing what all had to say....can I laugh now?

Dr.Emmy Bezzina, LL.D.,B.A.,Dip.S.Th.,

Aug 3rd 2008, 14:53

The Power of the Media and of Sites like this one have no immediate comparison.They were instrumental in the opinion of many to bring to an end the Transport Strike. That is why, Atheist or Angonstic, Christian or Moslem, Jew or Bahai, Hindu or Buddhist, or whatever wavelength one feels comfortable on,there must a space for one`s voice to be heard.Hence why Divorce is going to be locally introduced - The Prime Minister,Cabinet,MLP or Parliament are powerless to stop it coming NOW into my country.That is why Parliament is being overriden by The People,the Power of the People - hence why we were also pioneers when we introduced years ago IL-PARLAMENT TAL-POPLU! Let the People decide and our representatives MUST follow our Directives.This type of washing one`s dirty linen must however have a logical demarcation line, as we are going to end up not trusting each other on anything.Jason & Jimmy you are part of the same Family - the interests of the Party surely must at this stage be above your personal views about one another.May the Party appoint the Secretary General that it currently deserves if the MLP is ever to see Government again!ALPHA.