Editorial

With the re-election of Jason Micallef as general secretary, Labour Party delegates have put the MLP in a muddle. This is the third time in a row that the delegates have voted in a way that goes against mainstream thinking not only within the party itself but also nationally. When most thought George Abela was the right man for the job of party leader, the conference delegates chose Joseph Muscat. When there was hardly any quibble as to who were the two most suitable candidates to take over as new deputy leaders, the conference delegates opted for two widely seen to be politically ill-suited for their job. Now, for the third time, the delegates have gone against the grain and re-elected Mr Micallef as general secretary.

Since his election Mr Muscat has managed to win the hearts of the Labour people, and is also generally acting in a way that, all things being equal, could well make uncommitted voters take a chance and vote for him and his party in a general election. The problem for him is that all things are not equal! The conference delegates have greatly compounded the problem for Dr Muscat for instead of two he has now three people working with him at the top who are considered by many as being ill-suited for their job. And with one or two key party people having already declared they could not possibly work alongside Mr Micallef, the weather forecast for the Labour Party appears cloudy.

What is it that makes the party conference delegates act this way? Is it a case of the delegates knowing more about what is good for the party than all the rest, or, as is more likely, is there still a large segment of delegates who are of the old stock, as it were, and are finding it difficult to keep up with the changing times? Dr Abela was right when he felt party members ought to have been allowed to vote in the leadership election.

Dr Muscat may find it hard to re-establish the party base on a sound footing and, more importantly, to win back the trust of Labour people who chose to stay at home in the last general election. If this is no easy task, and it is not, that of winning the confidence of the uncommitted voters is even harder. Hard-line Labourites, including those who might have preferred Dr Abela or Michael Falzon, over Dr Muscat, as leader, may well be gradually warming up to Dr Muscat. His disarming smile and exuberance are winning him increasing support.

However, uncommitted voters are unlikely to be won over by sweet talk or a pleasant personality. What they look for is political substance, as the Finance Minister, Tonio Fenech reminded him so well the other day. It is all very well for Dr Muscat to lash out at the government over this and that and to proclaim his interest in ushering in a new way of doing politics, but he will soon find out for himself that it takes more than this to win political credibility.

The Labour leader will be naive if he thinks he has a free ride to an election victory. The weeks and months ahead will show where the wind is blowing for Dr Muscat.

One thing is clear: The delegates have not helped him build the right party political set-up for him to make the MLP electable again.