Labour MP Evarist Bartolo in a statement today confirmed he will be a candidate to lead the Labour Party- an intention he also made clear in interviews published in some of the Sunday newspapers.
"I am ready to lead, I am ready to serve. I view politics as a public service which I am ready to give with a vision for a better life in this country," the former Education Minister said.
Mr Bartolo said he is able to win debates in his own firm but calm manner. He is able to make people make sense of complex subjects in a language which everybody can understand. He is also able to listen, admit his mistakes and learn from them.
"I am able to bring together people of different views to work towards a common purpose."
Mr Bartolo said that as Labour leader, he will ensure that the party is in constant and effective contact with the biggest number of people and reflect their views and aspirations. While he will preserve the party's roots in the south of Malta, he will also work to grow the party in the North of Malta and in Gozo.
While continuing to help the disadvantaged, the MLP under his leadership will also seek to increasingly attract people who were making a success of life.
"We need policies which make sense also to the middle class."
Mr Bartolo said he will improve the way policies are drawn up and communicated, using credible media and the internet.
As an alternative government, Labour will back what is good for the country, criticise what is wrong, and propose alternatives.
Mr Bartolo also spoke on the need to improve education so that Malta can have the skills it needs to make economic success. At the same time, economic growth has to be sustainable also from an economic viewpoint, he said. The public service will be improved and the people will have a bigger share in decision-making.
He also promised gender equality, better living conditions for the elderly, more opportunities for young people and better support for families with children and those having disabilities.
Mr Bartolo said he will work for quality health services, better housing, better animal welfare and a social policy which will tackle problems before they develop.
He also promised greater space for private enterprise and progressive policies so that Malta can move closer to the more open and liberal societies of continental Europe.
Malta, he said, should also work more closely with the other members of the EU and make a bigger success of its EU membership. It should also develop stronger commercial links with the other countries of the Mediterranean and countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia.
In other to achieve all this, Mr Bartolo said, he will work to make the Labour Party more open and welcoming to different opinions, and better deploy the talents within it.
An interview with Mr Bartolo was carried in The Sunday Times yesterday.