The Labour Party’s electoral manifesto has to be “consistent in its writing, ideas and direction”, according to the man who will put it together.
Veteran MP Karmenu Vella was last week entrusted by Labour leader Joseph Muscat to draw up the party’s electoral manifesto after a reshuffle of MPs’ portfolios.
The decision to appoint someone responsible for drafting the manifesto may have been a reaction to the conclusions of Labour’s 2008 electoral defeat report, which said the manifesto was riddled with “big mistakes” and “misprints” that eroded the party’s credibility.
However, speaking to The Times, Mr Vella, an architect by profession, refused to look back at the 2008 manifesto and its 648-page precursor – a document titled Pjan għall-Bidu Ġdid (Plan For A New Beginning) – which pundits had described as a disjointed exercise.
“I prefer looking ahead. My role is to ensure the manifesto is consistent in its writing, ideas and direction. For example, if finance and economy are allowed to go separate ways it raises the question as to what priority the party will adopt if elected to government,” he said.
Mr Vella’s new role sees him return strongly to the centre of the party after fading away from the limelight in recent years.
After serving as tourism minister between 1996 and 1998, Mr Vella took up a job with a leading hotel chain in the private sector soon after Labour returned to the Opposition benches.
He remained a popular politician despite gravitating away from the frontline and in the 2008 election Mr Vella was returned to Parliament on the first count after receiving 4,911 votes from the fifth district. He obtained almost 600 more votes than five years earlier.
“I decided to give up shadowing tourism to avoid having a conflict of interest but things changed after June last year when my nine-year stint with the company came to an end. I work well with Joseph (Muscat) and happily accepted the portfolio he has given me, which includes shadowing finance,” Mr Vella said.
On the finance front, Mr Vella replaced former deputy leader Charles Mangion, who is now responsible for the economy. Putting Mr Vella in such a central role was viewed by many as a promotion, however when asked about the matter he shunned that label.
“Joseph has spoken of the importance of having MPs who are allrounders and it helps to be shadowing different portfolios,” Mr Vella said.
The 60-year-old politician is a veteran, having been elected to Parliament since 1976. He also served as minister in the 1980s. Mr Vella said it was an advantage for him to have been part of the Labour government of the 1980s, when asked whether this could be a handicap.
“It is all about ideas and experience,” Mr Vella said, insisting he was part of a bigger team.