Six years after first being elected general secretary of the Labour Party Jason Micallef has called it a day. Kurt Sansone retraces his rise and fall.

In his first words after having beaten five other contestants to the post of general secretary, Jason Micallef had argued the Labour Party made a fundamental mistake of antagonising the media.

Those words spelt out in 2003 signalled the beginning of a new start for a party that had just lost an election on the back of a boycot against mediahouse Where's Everybody.

Today, those words jar with the public dressing down Mr Micallef gave journalist James Debono on Saturday during the launch of the Labour Party's newly-founded think-tank. Mr Debono was invited by the party to debate with other speakers the future of the PL.

The incident was perhaps an irrelevant blip in Labour's new vocation to open up. After all, journalists can expect to be criticised. But beyond the surface it was symptomatic of the transformation Mr Micallef went through over the past six years.

He started off as a confident self-declared media person who came from nowhere to take Jimmy Magro's place. Labour then had two new deputy leaders, Charles Mangion and Michael Falzon, but was still lumped with the uncharismatic and unpopular Alfred Sant at the helm.

Mr Micallef had to make the impossible possible: enabling the media to warm up to Dr Sant.

Having been elected with the backing of Dr Falzon's sympathisers, Mr Micallef soon abandoned the deputy leader's alliance for a more cosy relationship with the leader.

Labour's post-election defeat report last year spoke of the incompatibility between Mr Micallef and Dr Falzon, a situation that was a constant source of tension.

The election defeat did not stop him from re-contesting the post of general secretary. He had backed his friend Joseph Muscat for the leadership bid and then rode on the wave to capture the delegates' vote.

Mr Micallef's reconfirmation was viewed by many as an albatross around the Labour leader's neck. Internally, the situation became intolerable after Dr Muscat hand-picked James Piscopo as chief executive officer with a role that clipped the general secretary's wings.

The Labour leader shunned a confrontation with Mr Micallef but that seems to have changed after the summer holidays. What prompted the change of heart more than one year down the line is still unclear but, in the words of former Nationalist minister and columnist Michael Falzon, it is only now that Dr Muscat has shown his leadership qualities.

"It is evident Muscat wanted the freedom to present a new party and he could not do so with Micallef around. I had written that Muscat would show that he is leader when he started to remove those who elected him and it seems that the time has come," Mr Falzon said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by political commentator Godfrey Grima, who described Mr Micallef's stepping down as part of the reform process.

"Jason may still be young but he is politically old. I believe Joseph wants to take chances on himself. If Labour wins or loses it should be because of him and not because of others around him," he said.

Mr Micallef will now be taking on the largely symbolic role of chairman of the party's media house One Productions. It is a commercial role, giving him the security of a job but making sure that his political influence is marginalised.

However, Mr Falzon is less convinced of how politically ineffectual Mr Micallef will be in his new role, insisting the compromise to move him out of the way is "not so nice".

"Micallef will now be heading Labour's media companies that already have a problem of presenting very hard-line news. Micallef's presence will not help the situation," he said.

Mr Micallef's rise and fall has been a relatively short one in the Maltese political context. He may be down but whether he will remain out of the political scene for ever is another question altogether.

For the time being he has to settle down in his new role, which sees him re-tracing his roots in the media.

The Labour Party said last night that during the transition period, starting tomorrow, until the annual general conference is held, PL president Stefan Zrinzo will be assuming the responsibilities of general secretary.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com