General secretaries will be a thing of the past within the Labour Party after the national executive accepted a proposal to abolish the post, once the general conference approves it.
"Some of the general secretary's functions will now be passed on to the deputy leader for party affairs and to the president of the party," the PL said yesterday.
A secretarial role within the national executive will still exist but this will be strictly administrative. The secretary will be appointed by the executive for two years and will not be able to contest an election.
"Labour is modernising its structures on the lines promised by Joseph Muscat when elected leader," a party spokesman said, adding this would ensure better functionality and efficiency.
Last September, general secretary Jason Micallef resigned from the post and was placed at the head of the party's media arm, following "discussions" with Dr Muscat.
He said later he did so only on condition that party pre-sident Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi would not replace him, a promise the PL denied was ever made.
Asked whether the abolishment of the role had anything to do with this incident, the spokesman said: "These changes are not based on names or individuals but on a vision for a party, a movement and a country."
"Far from being a one-man show, this is yet another step in building the movement of progressives and moderates... This party is not focused on internal rifts, unlike the one that is now in government," the spokesman concluded.
But PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier believes there is more to the decision than meets the eye. "The fact that the Labour leader did not manage to find or field a suitable candidate in the list of possible contenders does not mean that the post should be abolished."
Former PN general secretary Joe Saliba said he did not know how a party could function without a general secretary. "Does anyone know of an organisation without a general secretary? I don't think they exist."
Former Labour general secretary Dominic Fenech says this was "probably a good idea" if it were "part of a plan" and not just a question of eliminating a "contentious" role.
Prof. Fenech pointed out that the role had in recent years become very "high profile", giving the party two different faces that could, at times, become conflicting.
"This is centralisation of power but in a good way because it is more coordinated. The party cannot speak with more than one mouth," he said.
Mr Micallef could not be contacted yesterday.
cperegin@timesofmalta.com