Labour Party traces its roots

Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat yesterday inaugurated an exhibition tracing the history of the Malta Labour Party at the foyer of the party headquarters in Ħamrun.

The exhibition, which marks the party's 88th anniversary, consists of a number of panels highlighting various periods in the party's history.

Dr Muscat, the youngest leader the MLP has had since Dom Mintoff, had pledged as part of his reform programme to valorise the party's history and even mentioned the possibility of commissioning historians to write Labour's official history.

The party was set up on October 15, 1920 by 12 co-founders who each forked out Lm25 (not a measly sum at the time).

The first Labour government in 1947 was led by Pawlu Boffa, a medical doctor by profession, who became leader of the parliamentary group and of the party.

Boffa's government was supported by the General Workers' Union and had set out a number of reforms, such as the abolition of the senate, the abolition of plural votes and the introduction of women's right to vote.

In that government, Mr Mintoff became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reconstruction.

A rift between the two led to a serious Cabinet crisis and Dr Boffa eventually resigned. Mr Mintoff was elected MLP leader towards the end of 1949 at the age of 33. The MLP won the 1955 election.

A number of dismissals at the naval dockyard led to Mr Mintoff's resignation and his call for protests in April 1958. Over 100 persons were arrested and sent to prison.

In reaction, the Governor re-established direct colonial government which lasted until 1962.

Labour was returned to power in 1971 and in the 1981general election it managed to hold on to a parliamentary majority even though the Nationalist Party had won an absolute majority of votes.

Mr Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in 1984 and was succeeded by Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.

Labour lost the election in 1987 and again in 1992, after which Dr Mifsud Bonnici resigned and was succeeded on March 26 of that same year by Alfred Sant.

Dr Sant modernised the party and secured a landslide victory at the polls in 1996 which, however, only gave the party a one-seat majority.

In 1998, the Labour government lost a vote in Parliament on the lease of the Cottonera waterfront and, in view of the attitude adopted by Mr Mintoff, Dr Sant called an early election and lost.

The party lost the referendum for EU accession in March 2003 and was defeated in a general election the following month. The MLP lost the general election last March leading to Dr Sant's resignation as leader. Dr Muscat was elected as his successor in June.

The exhibition will run for two months.