Labour Party on the move

Under a new leader, changed style and all, the Labour Party is in the process of attempting to reinvent itself. Holding an unseemly long general conference is a tiny part of that effort. The real beef lies in what has been going since Joseph Muscat took over and what happens between now and the general election.

What is actually happening in the broader political scene is that the Nationalist government seems to be unravelling. An interview in yesterday's MaltaToday gave sharper proof than ever of that phenomenon. The interview was with a backbencher who, despite his success in the last general election and considerable talent confirmed by those who know him well, keeps a low profile.

Philip Mifsud did not mince words. In a context of total loyalty to the Prime Minister, he indicated very clearly his belief that Lawrence Gonzi's handling of another backbencher, Franco Debono, who has obtained a high profile through outspokenness and more, was wrong. It opened the Prime Minister to blackmail, in Mr Mifsud's view.

Mr Mifsud had more telling things to say, including about the passive role offered to government backbench MPs and Labour's enhanced profile. What, perhaps, is more important to Labour is what is left unsaid in public on the Nationalist front. Plus the very public criticism of the government's performance, which seems to be increasingly spiralling down. The buying out of the bus owners at a massive cost, plus the pittance offered for the shipyard despite the Privatisation Unit's best efforts are the latest cases in point.

As things stand, the Nationalist's are touted to lose heavily when the general election comes. But, then, that was the forecast before the 2008 poll, which nevertheless GonziPN won by a whisker. Dr Muscat will not take chances. In any event, he will want to lead Labour to electoral victory on its own terms, not by default.

Those terms clearly include a changed Labour Party. The biggest change came at the top. Alfred Sant, despite good qualities, which not everybody recognises adequately, carried too much baggage, not least with his preference for a Malta outside the EU. Dr Muscat, though young in years, had spent half his lifetime in politics and mostly at Dr Sant's side by the time he made it to leader.

Nevertheless, his four successful years as an MEP turned him into a convinced European. He threw Labour's anti-EU baggage overboard as soon as he took over the helm. He says he wants to do more than that. He is striving to build a movement of "moderates and progressives". That contains inherent contradiction. On certain things you cannot be progressive and moderate at the same time. It is not just that a Labour Party without a radical element in it will not be completely whole. It is also the fact that one cannot be all things to all men.

There is time for Dr Muscat to sort that out. Meanwhile, he and Labour will be heartened by the weakness being shown by the Nationalists in their petty attacks. Their main and practically only thrusts at Labour are the allegation that Dr Muscat decides alone and the abolition of the post of general secretary from the party hierarchy.

Some heavyweights plus rising stars in the Labour rank will smile at that jibe, especially in the context that Lawrence Gonzi is not known for being very pliant. That aside, a leader is there to lead.

As for the abolition of the general secretary post, that was long in coming, once Labour did not face the incongruity of having two deputy leaders, one of whom covers party affairs, which is usually the general secretary's remit.

That was a Dom Mintoff legacy which lingered. One of the overlapping posts had to go. In the process, Dr Muscat repositioned personnel and, thereby, is credited with adding value, not losing it.

The way to the general election is long. Many things can happen. With Labour various negatives need tackling, especially its media, which cannot penetrate with its negativism and contradicts the reaching out to non-Labour support.

The way criticism is made - often giving hostages to fortune - also needs to be reviewed. Yet, there can be little doubt that Labour is on the move like it has not been since 1996.