Interview • January 18 2004

A person not a role player

For three years Alfred Sant has avoided MaltaToday, in his first interview with this Sunday newspaper, the former Prime minister talks to Kurt Sansone about EU membership, redundancies, the June elections and his leadership

He still believes that Labour’s partnership proposal would have given Malta a better deal, but when I meet Alfred Sant at the glass house in Hamrun he is a man with feet firmly on the ground.
He displays little outward emotions and his eyes are not exactly a reflection of what he’s thinking.
Alfred Sant has no misgivings of having tied EU membership to a general election, insisting that EU membership was not simply an ‘in’ or ‘out’ decision but a programme of government.
This is the first time the Labour leader has conceded an interview to MaltaToday. To break the ice I ask Dr Sant what motivates him to be active in politics and true to his progressive roots he answers: "To change this country. To push forward new ideas. To give opportunities to people who have been left by the wayside."
These are a few words, but a tall order indeed for any politician. But, I suggest, wouldn’t his cause have been served better with Labour in government? Why did the Labour Party have to lose an election to eventually change its position on EU membership, the single issue on which the last election was fought?
"Ours is not a changed position given what Labour had said before the election. Now, rightly or wrongly, the people have decided through the election process and membership is a reality. Being the democrats we are we accept the current circumstances. What’s wrong about that?"
He then insists EU membership was an issue intrinsically related to the other core issue; how to govern a country. By equating the EU issue with a programme of government, Dr Sant thus justifies Labour’s position to recognise the electoral result as the binding decision on EU membership rather than the referendum.
"A programme of government has to be presented in a general election not in a referendum. If we had changed our position between the referendum and the election we would have lost many more Labour votes, of those who supported our EU position, than gained Labourites who wanted Malta to join the EU. We would have lost the election by a much bigger margin."
The Labour leader is surprised when I ask him whether accepting the EU because there is no other option, is conveying the right image to middle of the road voters.
"What do you mean? If the people have decided you have to accept their decision. We are convinced that ours was the best option, but people did not choose it. That’s democracy. But we have to move forward we cannot stop. We have to create a new life. It would be wrong to stick to the policy voted down by the people."
Dr Sant acknowledges that there are a lot of deluded Labourites, but this is only natural, he says. "It has happened in all parties that have gone through the process we had to undergo. There are Labourites who tell me that we should continue persisting in our policy by saying that we should withdraw Malta from the EU. But if we adopt that option it would be much more life threatening for the country and working families than deciding to stay in with the disadvantages membership may bring. We have to make our calculations and ask what is best for the country, what is best for the people, what is best for the working class?"
Nothing comes without controversy in the Labour Party and the general conference decision to select only four candidates for the forthcoming European Parliament elections has provided ample fuel to keep internal party tussles going on for a couple more weeks and months.
It has been reported that Alfred Sant asked the national executive to approve a motion by which the number of candidates goes up from four to eight. I ask him to confirm.
"Not myself. There were a number of delegates that signed a petition to demand the holding of a general conference. Increasing the number of candidates is a general conference decision. I will listen to all points of view and suggest the best way forward.
"We wanted eight candidates. We amended the statute to cater for eight candidates, but we have four. It’s a bit awkward. We are not in an ideal position."
Dr Sant adds: "Mind you we have four very good candidates. But it is a question of reaching out to more people. Nonetheless, it is a general conference decision not a national executive decision. If the delegates asked for a general conference they will have it."
Dr Sant acknowledges that it will be difficult to convince the Labour electorate to go out and vote in the June EP election, but he is expecting a good turn out.
"The problem we are going to face is that a number of Labour people do not consider the European Parliament election as something they should turn out for. Let’s not call it a problem, it’s more of a challenge to get Labourites out to vote."
He admits that Labour’s previous anti-membership stand is the main reason why Labourites may feel they do not want to vote. "This is normal but we will work hard to convince as many voters as possible to go out and vote."
At this stage Dr Sant dismisses any suggestion that the June elections might serve as a test of confidence in government’s administration of the country. He even argues that the campaign has not yet started.
"We are not yet talking on those lines. We are preparing our candidature, co-ordinating with the Party of European Socialists (PES) on the electoral programme they will be issuing and which we will adapt locally. And then there are preparations for the local council elections, which will be held on the same day."
When I bring up the issue of redundancies at VF, Dr Sant does not agree that the current spate of job losses is not related to EU membership.
"It’s not fuelled by EU membership. Who says so? Why not? Don’t forget, during the referendum campaign the VF management said the EU would guarantee their markets. This hasn’t happened. The EU hasn’t guaranteed their markets because it all depends on the competitive situation - how competitive are you. The whole question is whether the EU is going to preserve or undermine our competitiveness.
"We raised that question year after year. Under EU conditions do small island states like Malta have more flexibility or less, more space to be competitive or less space? Don’t tell me that the VF redundancies are not related to the EU. When I used to mention the list of companies that would face difficulties that is exactly what I meant.
"The textile industry is susceptible to change. But so is the electronics industry and tourism. We are not talking solely about textiles here, but the whole economy. Globalisation is one big puff to hide reality. This country has been entering a phase where it needs restructuring and instead of making an effort to address the situation, government simply spoke of restructuring in terms of joining the EU. Within the EU itself islands are given regional status because of certain inherent disadvantages. But Malta and Cyprus are not considered so because they are States."
Dr Sant’s gloomy outlook on EU membership is accompanied with a silver lining.
"The application of EU rules will erode our competitiveness unless action is taken to create compensatory mechanisms. This is not a question of staying in or out; that has been decided. We are in the system now and government must rise to the challenge and address the issue of competitiveness. But this government has lost the plot. Its sole aim was that of joining the EU."
At a recent reception for the media, Dr Sant went on record saying that everybody has to pull the same rope to ensure the country comes out of the social and economic rut it is in. Was this his veiled call for political consensus on key issues? It does not seem so.
"The Opposition has no control on the running of the country. It can oppose, suggest and criticise. But government has control. This government has consistently refused to draft a long-term economic plan despite repeated suggestions by the Labour Party. Now, government is expected to draft such a plan on recommendation from Brussels even if the strategy behind the plan is unclear. On Wednesday the Prime Minister was quoted as saying he will meet the social partners. They have been crying out for a meeting since December. The GWU, have not even received an acknowledgement for their request to meet and discuss the current spate of job losses. That’s not the way to treat the social partners.
"A lot of creative accounting has gone into the exercise to try and depict a healthy situation in spite of the public deficit. The deficit has been allowed to go haywire. There has been no effort at cost control. Look at the private-public partnership, the one upgrading roundabouts. The problem was we were spending a hundred thousand Liri on government workers that were doing nothing. The first mistake was not making those employees work productively. And the second mistake was the creation of a public-private partnership, which cost public coffers two million liri. The roundabouts are very nice, but for heaven’s sake these are public funds."
What is his message to government?
"Go on, do your work, damn it."
Since the election speculation has been rife on the strength of Alfred Sant’s leadership in the Labour Party. He answers abruptly and with no explanation to two quick questions on the issue.
First, I ask whether he feels his leadership is threatened.
"No," he replies.
What is your relationship with your two new deputy leaders?
"Very good with both of them," Dr Sant quips.
The man can be described as a survivor. Whilst others in the party lost their positions, he soldiered on. But when I ask him whether he feels comfortable with the situation, Dr Sant disputes the fact that he was the only person to stay on.
"In the parliamentary group there is a whole array of people who were re-elected. In the administration there are two or three that have remained the same. If you look at the committee structures of the party they are mostly the same. There were changes that were bigger than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary."
The decision to re-contest the leadership after having offered his resignation soon after the April election remains mysterious for many people.
Dr Sant says: "At the time I had health related problems. I spent time at home and a number of people, decision makers not simply common mortals like those who used to phone in on Manuel Cuschieri’s programme, phoned me and wrote to me, asking me to reconsider. I took my time to weigh what they were telling me and finally decided to re-contest."
Dr Sant’s rocky relationship with the media is next on the agenda. It has been anything but healthy.
"What happened was because of the EU issue a big chunk of the media became a player in the political game. Not just to project its message, but it became a player to create political events. That is something that at times elicited a reaction. However, I cannot talk of the media in general because there were some who were ethical even though they did not agree with the party or with me, but others were not ethical. They were not professional. Sometimes they provoked a reaction which made us play into their hands."
The Labour Party is promising a winter of action by taking to the streets with its message in favour of job creation. Won’t this send jitters down the spine of middle of the road voters?
Dr Sant smiles. "What we look for is the best way to address public opinion. Sometimes it is parliamentary debate, sometimes it’s media messages, sometimes both and sometimes it is by taking to the streets. That is a democracy after all. Look at all the protests in Italy, France and England over a host of sensitive issues ranging from pensions to war. It is one way by which people assert their democratic views."
And he does not hesitate when I ask him what message will the MLP be championing in the months to come: "Jobs, jobs, jobs."
He continues: "Let’s face it, we need jobs. At this stage we can talk about profit and loss, but where are the productive jobs? These guys - the Nationalists - are just hopeless. It’s alright that they had the philosophy that money’s no problem, and had it going for some time. But at the end of the day they have to deliver. Look at the mess they made of Malta Enterprise. The Malta Development Corporation was non-functional for six years and now the same people that made it non-functional were appointed to run Malta Enterprise."
With the Nationalist Party gearing itself up for a leadership contest Alfred Sant must be eager to know who will be his rival counterpart. Another of those rare smiles appears on his face. "We’d like to see the new leader and what he will do. But other than that I don’t comment on the affairs of the other side, even if they constantly comment on ours."
Alfred Sant: the politician and the writer, are they two different personalities?
"I’m a person not a role player. The politician and the writer are one."