There is no clear favourite in the Labour Party deputy leader race yet as delegates face a hard choice between three of Joseph Muscat’s top ministers.
Party sources said the three candidates for the post vacated by Louis Grech – Helena Dalli, Chris Fearne and Edward Scicluna – enjoyed widespread respect among delegates. They have a week to campaign ahead of the first round to be held on July 13.
If none of the three contenders obtains 50 per cent plus one of the votes, a run-off between the two front runners will be held the following day.
Sources said it was unlikely a winner would emerge after the first round. The three were encouraged by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to contest.
Dr Dalli is viewed as the one with the deepest roots in the party.
The Equality Minister, who has revolutionised gay rights over the past four years, targeted the grass roots in the choice to formally launch her bid at the foot of the Freedom Day monument, in Vittoriosa last Saturday.
Her endorsement by former Prime minister Alfred Sant was also intended to reach out to the party core.
Meanwhile, Mr Fearne, who was re-appointed health minister after the election, also extolled his roots in the party by pointing out his activism from an early age when he formally launched his bid at the oncology centre in Mater Dei Hospital yesterday.
Banking on what he described as his “enthusiasm and energy” to take on the added responsibilities, Mr Fearne acknowledged the delegates had a tough choice to make.
The PL was like a championship team whose manager had to choose between three prolific attackers, he said, unlike the Nationalist Party that barely had enough players to field a team, had no manager and no captain, he said.
Mr Fearne added he would try and persuade Dr Muscat to stay on but added he would work with any leader who came after him.
Dr Muscat has said he will not be leading the PL at the next general election, a situation that will see the party transition to a new leader in three or four years’ time.
“Although I want Joseph Muscat to stay on, if he decides otherwise, I am pledging 10 years of service in this role because my loyalty lies with the party and the country,” Mr Fearne said.
He said the Prime Minister had transformed the PL into a winning party and to remain so it had to remain close to the people.
“We have to understand people’s concerns and aspiration and the party delegates are those who can keep us close to the people,” he said.