When Joseph Muscat was elected leader of the Labour Party, the US Embassy was concerned about his “anti-US Navy ship visit rhetoric” but saw “some hope” in his openness on social issues like divorce.
This was revealed in a “sensitive” US embassy cable published by Wikileaks during the past week titled: ‘Malta: ‘change’ candidate elected as leader of opposition Labour Party’. It was written just after Dr Muscat was elected leader in 2008.
Chargé d’affaires Jason Davis concluded the cable with some analysis, after pointing out that since Dr Muscat, a former MEP, spent most of his time in Brussels, the embassy had minimal direct communication with him.
“All indications are that (Dr) Muscat intends to maintain the open and largely friendly channels of communication that prevailed with (former leader Alfred) Sant. The foreign policy direction of the MLP under (Dr) Muscat’s leadership is not yet clear, and he has yet to appoint a new slate of MLP parliamentarians for the Foreign and European Affairs Committee.
“On certain social issues – most notably divorce, previously an untouchable for both parties – Muscat has said it should be part of the agenda for debate and discussion, leaving some hope that he may be more open to new ideas than his NAM-flavoured, anti-US Navy ship visit rhetoric would suggest,” the cable concluded.
It is not clear which comments the author was referring to when he spoke about Dr Muscat’s rhetoric.
“NAM” refers to the non-aligned movement which Malta withdrew from under a Nationalist administration in its preparations to join the EU. In the embassy cable, Mr Davis also points out that Dr Muscat’s candidature was blessed by Dr Sant and tainted by the election of Anġlu Farrugia and Toni Abela as his deputies.
“At 34, (Dr) Muscat is the youngest candidate to contest the post, and ran on a campaign of change and a promise to strengthen and unite the party.
“However, a week after (Dr) Muscat took the helm of the party, two MLP veterans were elected to deputy leadership positions, suggesting that the MLP is not completely ready for sweeping changes,” the cable states.
“Muscat’s victory came as no surprise, as his candidacy for the post had been blessed by former MLP leader Alfred Sant, who resigned the leadership after the MLP’s third consecutive defeat in the March general elections,” the cable adds.
Contacted for a reaction, a Labour spokesman did not seem concerned, but questioned its accuracy.
“Such diplomatic briefs are common practice for embassies. This one in particular was written a few days after the election of Joseph Muscat as Labour leader and relies on general knowledge, which is not necessarily and strictly factual,” the spokesman said.
Wikileaks is an international organisation that is still in the process of publishing some 250,000 confidential US diplomatic cables in the name of transparency.
To view the cable click on: http://tinyurl.com/3mlhpcv .