Rebirth and renewal at hand in the PL (1)

It always takes a courageous leader to embark on a series of party reforms which are not easily understood and appreciated by its members. Generally and universally, institutions tend to be intractable because those at the top quite rightly fear that reforms and renewals will hurt them at the end. The reforms approved by the PL's general conference are historic in the sense that the delegates voted themselves out of entrenched positions and also surrendered their most dear right - to elect the Party Leader.

Besides this seismic reform, the conference declared that from now on the ideology of the new party is that of social democracy which is quite different from that of democratic socialism. Former leader Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, writing in the GWU paper l-orizzont, grasped the significance of this new ideology, and appealed to the delegates to reject it. The conference did well to ignore his appeal because one can only save himself and the institution he is part of if he is wise enough to accept the Lord's advice to Nicodemus: only if one is born again, can one be saved.

Joseph Muscat's determination to turn the PL into a social democracy is a milestone in the party's long and troubled history. This is no cosmetic change, it is a fundamental one. It has given the party a new soul that can attract to its fold many people from bourgeoisie. Hitherto, life in a socialist party made them feel edgy and uncomfortable. The new PL has become like the Biblical great tree in whose branches birds of many colours can find refuge and live.

I know that there is much more to be done but all fingers point to a renewal and rebirth of the LP. After so many years marked by a schism-in-the-soul, at last, the Labour Party has taken the plunge and the last conference is an indicator that it has left the Pillars of Hercules behind and sailed into new seas.

There is no doubt that the PL is once more on the move. The very foundations have been shaken and loosened and a spirit of progress is permeating all its members. The tents have been struck, and the great caravan of a long-suffering people is once more on the march.