Joseph Muscat's MLP: Boffa or Mintoff?

Charles Zammit

Dec 15th 2008, 00:47

@Charles Zammit

I do not blame you for asserting I have a simplistic overview. I do have world limits.

Labour and Strickland's Constitutionals provide something to note. Most of Strickland's supporters were so out of personal need or self-interest. Strickland was an aristocrat and Imperialist, a Tory in the House of Lords, someone that had started his political activity on the side of Fortunato Mizzi's Nationalists, whom he betrayed as soon as he was offered a nice post with the Imperial government. Supporting Lord Gerald Strickland meant job security for many, and I doubt anyone gave a hoot or understood his Punic Thesis and what not.

If many working class Stricklandiani became Labourites upon the death of the pro-Imperialist Constitutional Party, they also did it because Labour was guaranteeing social services. I doubt many Labourites back then knew what socialism and social democracy actually entailed, many don't today.

Support from the Stricklandiani went to both current major parties. Working class Stricklandiani in the greatest probability moved towards Labour. Those of the Stricklandiani having a more economically conservative bent moved to the PN, unfortunately. Sliema was a fortizza Stricklandiana in the past, just an example.

Edric Micallef Figallo

Dec 15th 2008, 00:33

@ Patricia Muscat

Italian was Malta's official language for centuries and only official self-interested British policies of "deitalianisation" changed this. There was no question prior to such policies.

Nationalists opposed the anglicisation of the Maltese because they respected an integral part of our heritage, something others didn't. The Nationalist press of the day stated that the result of Imperialist policies would have been the linguistic hegemony of the English language. Did this happen? Yes. A language forms a culture. I doubt we're Anglo-Saxon, Muscat and Boffa are Italian surnames.

Perhaps you are oblivious to the fact that the MLP wanted integration with the UK and had it been successful independence would have been quite difficult. MLP's supposed will to independence was after it failed to deny it, and not once but twice. Few actually do know that the MLP was actually secretively dealing with Italy to integrate us with such a state, all this prior to Independence, let alone "Ħelsien". This was revealed amongst others by PN's ex-General Secretary Victor Ragonesi. I happened to have read the Labourite memo in this regard as well.

Brush my history books? Not if Patricia Muscat says so.

Edric Micallef Figallo

Dec 15th 2008, 00:19

There are limits to how much one can write in a letter to any editor and how much one can write as a comment on this page.

Dane Cauchi makes a very valid point, I would have agreed with Enrico Mizzi back then. However, terms such as "conservative" and else should be used with caution when dealing with historical and cultural contexts. Mizzi was more socially minded and his PDN was quite close to the Labourites in social policy. The first social housing in Malta appeared in Blata l-Bajda when Enrico Mizzi was the minister responsible.

The question is complex in relation to the UPM. The conservative UPM shunned Mizzi to the extent that it had entered into a coalition government with the Labourites in the 1920s!

That would be Labour's first queer choice of allies in my view, the second would be with the conservative Lord Gerald Strickland's Constitutional Party. The Labourites allied themselves with an aristocrat, an ardent imperialist and a member of the House of Lords with the Conservative Party. The truth is that in this way employment with the British services was quite safe, unlike if one sided with the Nationalists.

Lara Boffa

Nov 29th 2008, 03:05

@ C Borg
“Labour removed Boffa openly” – More Mintoff other than Labour.

@ E Micallef Figallo - lol

charles zammit

Nov 28th 2008, 20:47

mr micallef figallo is a very simplistic overview of the various currents of the labour movement in malta. those who have a better knowledge of the historic events know that the labour movement had a longer period of evolution than the 1950s. most propable it dates back to the days of vassalli. one can also mention manuel dimech and his followers. it is also important to mention the compact government a coalition between the party of sir gerald strickland and the labour party of paul boffa. i would say that most of the traditional labour supporters evolved from this fusion. at that tie labour party was only a minor party of the coalition but managed to pass laws that had far reaching effect and when strickland's party disintegrated just after world war 2 its supporters readily embraced the ideals of the labour movement. i recall that my grandparents coming from the rural areas were stricklandjani converted to laburisti . to this day most of their off-springs uphold labour ideas. while il partit laburista should be forward looking and embracing progressive thinking it should not shred the rich roots that will help make this movement an all embracing one.

Chris Borg

Nov 28th 2008, 18:12

@ Angelo Micallef.

PN first conspired against Borg Olivier - Labour removed Boffa openly - and than erected a monument for him....so?

And regarding inconsistency...PN does have female MPs even if originally it opposed female suffrage.

Ang, ahjar tmur taqbad dawk il-kotba tal-ligi!

Muscat.Patricia

Nov 28th 2008, 18:11

@ Mr Figallo
Sir you should brush your history book. Like many partisan cadres, you seem to suffer from selective amnesia, because it was the Nationalist Party, that wanted to install ITALIAN instead of Maltese...dialetto di cucina- as the only official Italian language and not the Labour Party! And it was the Nationalist Party that wanted Malta to be redeemed- to (join) ITALY!!! Perhaps you should do some research on the phrase MALTA IRREDENTA, and then you will be surprised at the VOLTA FACCIA of the Nationalist Party! Indeed, according to this Newspaper, the NP wanted not Independence for Malta, but Dominium Status, a quasi feudal lordship system, while the MLP wanted full Independence. A dynamic political party changes with time,- to reflect the society which it represents,- and indeed Dr Joseph Muscat is the harbinger and catalyist of this positive development.

Dane Cauchi

Nov 28th 2008, 12:52

Yes and as I recall the Boffa-Borg Olivier coalition was a huge success.

Perhaps Mr. Figallo could enlighten us about the situation in the 1920s when the Partito Democratico Nazionalista and L’Unione Politica Maltese (a nationalist party made up mostly of priests) merged.

Enrico Mizzi leader of the PDN was not enthusiastic about this as most of the UPM members were staunch conservatives. It is interesting to know about Mizzi’s policies the ones never adopted by the PN at the time due to the conservatism prevalent at the time in the PN.

If the 1920s are to remote for him maybe he could write a piece about the Borg Olivier – Ganado struggle.

maria falzon

Nov 28th 2008, 12:26

Muscat's Labour Party is the people's party, and no one else's

j.azzopardi

Nov 28th 2008, 11:21

crisis ! what crisis ? bidu gdid , u terremoti . muhx ahajar nieqfu,mela issa daqsek Sur Cannela .

Angelo Micallef

Nov 28th 2008, 10:59

I normally tend to disagree with the views expressed by Mr. Edric Micallef Figallo by on Labour being inconsistent even on its own history I'd have to agree with him totally. Let us remember this is the party that first hailed Boffa then called him Boffa Imoffa, then it hailed Mintoff as Is-Salvatur and then changed the tune to It-Traditur whilst KMB well..he quite simply got dusted away into historical insignificance as will Alfred Sant very soon.

Truly a political party of political inconsistency.

I.Brown

Nov 28th 2008, 10:41

Edric, why are you so bothered about the issue? You clearly have no interest in helping the MLP out of its crisis, so why worry? As long as you can continue admiring your Italian-speaking idols, kulhadd kuntent!