22nd March 2008
The 
On 5 June Labour will
choose its new leader who will then spearhead its next attempt, sometime in
2013, to regain government after a quarter century in opposition.
I sincerely hope that after the event I would not have to write something as prophetic as I had to do after the re-election of Alfred Sant following the 2003 election defeat (see box).
My participation in Bondi Plus last Monday was an eye-opener. It exposed all that is wrong in the inner workings of Labour. On my right I had Anna Mallia (my niece but with a very strong mind and accepting no promptings from any uncle) who remains a persona non grata within Labour because she has strong opinions which she expresses liberally and renders uneasy life for the cosy incumbents at Hamrun who earn their living from the hard-earned donations that Labour’s grass roots regularly make at great personal sacrifice.
On my left I had Toni Abela who seems to carry the mantle of spokesman for the party administration especially those that seem to think they have a right to decide who will be their next boss.
Anna was promoting the need for the party to open itself up, to reach out and connect with the electorate and all those who can influence opinions among the electorate. Toni was more interested in making shows rather than in engaging in meaningful discussion. He was promoting Labour to continue to be antagonistic towards the media and inviting the delegates to look inwardly refusing to open the decision for the choice of new leader to the general party membership even though he admits it would be a good thing. The logic of refusing something that is admittedly good quite frankly escapes me.
How many elections must Labour lose to understand that without reaching out beyond its red base and start appealing to other hues (pink, white and light blue) it can never amass a working majority to accede to government?
It is good that at least this time, unlike 2003, Labour has agreed to prepare the analysis of the outcome of the last election, before proceeding to the leadership contest. I trust that such report gets widely disseminated so that whoever is tasked to elect the new leader, whether the general conference delegates or the wider party membership base, will do so with the benefit of knowing why they got it wrong the last time round. At least Labour will start learning from its own mistakes.
Whoever is tasked to choose the leader has to discharge their responsibility with due regard to the national interest. They must truly believe that they are actually choosing the next Prime Minister. They cannot do so effectively if they continue to defy public opinion on the acceptability to the wider electorate of the candidates contending for the job. The person chosen must be able to engage actively with the spread of the other basis of power spread among society: business leaders, media, church, unions and intelligentsia.
He must be a visionary capable of inspiring the general electorate to a policy of growth and wealth creation which is stimulated by business friendly policies, lower taxes and effective investment incentives. But above all the leader must be a true social democrat who can defend the interest of those members of society who cannot participate in the wealth creation process due to their age or sickness, to ensure these are not left behind and that they take their fair share of the wealth created to maintain social cohesiveness.
The real prospect for Labour to win the next general elections in 2013 will take shape in the period leading to the election of5 June
2008 .
I sincerely hope that after the event I would not have to write something as prophetic as I had to do after the re-election of Alfred Sant following the 2003 election defeat (see box).
My participation in Bondi Plus last Monday was an eye-opener. It exposed all that is wrong in the inner workings of Labour. On my right I had Anna Mallia (my niece but with a very strong mind and accepting no promptings from any uncle) who remains a persona non grata within Labour because she has strong opinions which she expresses liberally and renders uneasy life for the cosy incumbents at Hamrun who earn their living from the hard-earned donations that Labour’s grass roots regularly make at great personal sacrifice.
On my left I had Toni Abela who seems to carry the mantle of spokesman for the party administration especially those that seem to think they have a right to decide who will be their next boss.
Anna was promoting the need for the party to open itself up, to reach out and connect with the electorate and all those who can influence opinions among the electorate. Toni was more interested in making shows rather than in engaging in meaningful discussion. He was promoting Labour to continue to be antagonistic towards the media and inviting the delegates to look inwardly refusing to open the decision for the choice of new leader to the general party membership even though he admits it would be a good thing. The logic of refusing something that is admittedly good quite frankly escapes me.
How many elections must Labour lose to understand that without reaching out beyond its red base and start appealing to other hues (pink, white and light blue) it can never amass a working majority to accede to government?
It is good that at least this time, unlike 2003, Labour has agreed to prepare the analysis of the outcome of the last election, before proceeding to the leadership contest. I trust that such report gets widely disseminated so that whoever is tasked to elect the new leader, whether the general conference delegates or the wider party membership base, will do so with the benefit of knowing why they got it wrong the last time round. At least Labour will start learning from its own mistakes.
Whoever is tasked to choose the leader has to discharge their responsibility with due regard to the national interest. They must truly believe that they are actually choosing the next Prime Minister. They cannot do so effectively if they continue to defy public opinion on the acceptability to the wider electorate of the candidates contending for the job. The person chosen must be able to engage actively with the spread of the other basis of power spread among society: business leaders, media, church, unions and intelligentsia.
He must be a visionary capable of inspiring the general electorate to a policy of growth and wealth creation which is stimulated by business friendly policies, lower taxes and effective investment incentives. But above all the leader must be a true social democrat who can defend the interest of those members of society who cannot participate in the wealth creation process due to their age or sickness, to ensure these are not left behind and that they take their fair share of the wealth created to maintain social cohesiveness.
The real prospect for Labour to win the next general elections in 2013 will take shape in the period leading to the election of
Alfred
Mifsud
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A Bouquet of Pensieri
maltastar.com
Alfred
Mifsud
Events that happened after the election dismayed me more than the result of the election itself. Whoever loves Labour more than himself must be utterly unhappy that we have not only thrown away an election that should have been clearly won, but even more so that we are prejudicing our chances for the next one too.
For
anyone who thinks with his mind not just his heart, the PN must be truly pleased
with themselves not only that they won the elections but also that Dr Alfred
Sant
was reconfirmed Leader of the MLP. Nothing gives them a better chance to look
fresh at the next elections when they can present a new leader whilst
Labour
would present a leader who would be at his fourth asking having lost roundly the
last two elections and with a record that he could not manage the first he won
when still an unknown quantity.
Alfred
Sant
has become an easy and predictable target for the PN and they manage his media
image with clever style. This leaves true Labourites
like me mouth wide open gasping for some political oxygen as Labour
media gets elated by fine speeches in parliament rather than devising real
winning strategies for next election.
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