US Ambassador Molly Bordonaro had expressed concerns about the possibility of a Labour victory in a diplomatic cable to the State Department in 2008, when the general election was called.

"A victory by the opposition in this EU member state would impact U.S. interests in several ways, including by reducing possibilities for multilateral security cooperation," the Ambassador wrote.

Mrs Bordano said that historically,  U.S. relations with the Labour Party had been  troubled.

"Under the leadership of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, who cultivated strong economic ties with Libya in the 1970s, Malta joined the Non-Aligned Movement. More recently (in 1996), a newly-elected Labor government under Alfred Sant withdrew from Partnership for Peace (PfP) within 24 hours of Labor coming to power.

"By contrast, cooperation with the current government has been excellent. Prime Minister Gonzi met with President Bush in September 2005, a meeting that launched a series of bilateral agreements including the Proliferation Security Initiative Ship-Boarding Agreement (SBA), which entered into force in December 2007; as well as an Extradition Treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

"With Malta now in the EU, the Eurozone and Schengen, and with virtually no daylight between the parties on the high-profile immigration issue, foreign policy differences between the parties are now minimal, and the Embassy has warm relations at multiple levels with officials from both parties."

The ambassador said that the greatest impact of a Labour victory would be with regard to Malta's willingness to support multi-lateral security efforts. She said that Prime Minister Gonzi had told her that Malta would rejoin PfP if the Nationalist Party won the elections, whereas Labor remained adamantly opposed. Dr Sant has also indicated he would like to see a reduction in the visits by U.S. navy ships.

"A further factor appears to us to be general quality of leadership: Labor's Sant can be erratic in his decision-making, as when he first supported SBA (Ship Boarding Agreement to allow US officials to board and inspect Maltese registered ships), only to reject it as elections approached. In his address to Parliament explaining Labor's 'no' vote on the SBA, Labor Spokesman for Foreign Affairs Leo Brincat said if Labor won the upcoming elections the Labor government would "review" the agreement and its implementation on an annual basis."