'I will be everyone’s general secretary' - Jason Micallef

Jason Micallef has promised to let bygones by bygones.

“As of now, I will look ahead. What happened in the past will remain in the past. I will forget all that was said about me during the campaign,” the newly re-elected MLP general secretary told timesofmalta.com.

He said he was very satisfied with the result. "With their strong vote the delegates have showed that they believe in me, and they feel that I still have a lot to offer as general secretary”.

Mr Micallef obtained 370 of the 837 valid votes cast yesterday, putting him comfortably ahead of the other three candidates.

He said that he met all 889 delegates during the campaign, some of them twice, and discussed with them the criticism he had been getting.

“I replied to the criticism internally - that is how things should be done.”

Asked about his relations with people in the party such as former deputy leader Michael Falzon, who had openly criticised him, Mr Micallef said: “I am everyone’s general secretary, including Michael Falzon’s... I am also Leo Brincat’s general secretary and whoever’s... What’s past is past, whatever was said about me is forgotten.”

He said the party now needed to look ahead and settle down to its party business because the people wanted a strong opposition and that was what interested the delegates. "The delegates want a party focused on policies, on the national interest, on finding ways to defend the workers."

On his role in the next five years, Mr Micallef said that it would be different than in the past five. He was now working with a new leadership and he looked forward to the first meeting of the administration to decide on how to proceed. He described his relations with the new administration as excellent.