Two months after watching a perverted sitcom as the Malta Labour Party elected a new leader, we have now just witnessed a tragi-drama which saw Jason Micallef re-elected general secretary.

Many felt that the double whammy which saw Michael Falzon vilified and burdened unfairly with the blame for the loss of the last election and slamming the doors in George Abela's face, would cause various divisions within the party. This is worrisome because it seems that no one faction within the party is strong enough to stand up for what it thinks is right and try to put the party on a sound footing after years of meandering without having a targeted destination.

This situation has left its own supporters totally confused and half-hearted. For example, last week The Times reported on the state visit by President Fenech Adami to Libya and his talks with Col Gaddafi about several situations including the outstanding dispute about oil drilling in areas of common jurisdiction. Immediately Labour diehards unleashed a barrage of smart remarks ranging from "the visit being just a photo op" to "the delegation coming back empty handed" and several others in between.

Within 24 hours, the MLP issued a statement welcoming the discussions and the agreements reached to continue the search for a final solution to difficulties between the two countries some dating back 40 years. One can conclude that the party and its supporters are not even on the same page but is this a surprise? Definitely not, because these followers have been fed with so many contradictory messages over the years that they cannot gauge what their party stands for any more.

With a harsh campaign against the EU, the condemnation of converting our currency to euros, the inane idea of reopening the accession treaty with the EU in order to be able to drain more tax dollars into the black hole that the shipyards are, the unbelievable promise of halving the surcharge without proper explanation from where the lost revenue would be replaced, the proposed overtime payments at flat rate - only to reverse itself once the new leader was elected, then how can one blame the Labour followers for being confused?

Two night ago the election of the party's administration took place. The focus, however was on the post of general secretary for obvious reasons - obvious to those who are card carrying members but also to others who are intelligent enough to realise that the orderly functioning of a political party is essential to the whole country and not just for one particular party.

So, even after supposedly learning valuable lessons from the leadership contest of only two months ago, not only same mistakes were repeated, but more serious ones have been made. Moreover, the web is still there and more importantly, the spider is still connected to the nerves of the party structure. The same spider which wove the network electing Joseph Muscat is still there.

This same clique pushed the delegates to retain Jason Micallef - the same general secretary on whose shoulders rests a large portion of blame for losing the last election. Why? The answer remains the same. The clique must remain unimpeachable at all costs.

The big question now is whether those who so loudly proclaimed that they will not work with Mr Micallef will make a U-turn and submit to the old regime or rebel against the intransigence and arrogance of the clique which is putting the party in a strait jacket.

There are capable and respectable people within the Labour Party but the question is whether they are strong enough to resist the unyielding pressure from those whose policies are extreme, out of date and still under the impression that might is right. It is time for the moderates to band together and stand for the good of the party and the country.

And, one more thing, the Labour Party should ditch the "new beginning" banner because Monday night's events prove that there is nothing new about it and worse, there are many within its ranks who still stand for everything else but new beginnings.

The hope one had for this party starting afresh has turned, once again, into another fine mess.