Labour leadership contender Joseph Muscat yesterday accused state broadcaster PBS of interfering in Labour’s electoral campaign.
On Friday, in a report aired in the evening news, PBS claimed the Labour MEP was going to ditch his candidature and instead support former Labour deputy leader George Abela, who last Sunday officially announced his leadership bid.
Asked by MaltaToday whether PBS was being used indirectly in the campaign, Muscat said: “I do not think that it is being used so indirectly after all. I think that on Friday it was used directly. I expect better, especially when one considers I had sent a very clear statement to PBS where I declared I was going to contest, prior to that particular news item was broadcast.
“However let’s give the benefit of the doubt to everybody. This is, after all, part of the rapprochement I am suggesting with all the different sectors of the media,” the MEP added, echoing one of the key proposals of his electoral campaign.
He dismissed a tandem with George Abela as leader and him as deputy.
Unlike deputy leader Michael Falzon, who presented himself with his wife and two children, it was a solo performance for Muscat yesterday morning at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, where he outlined 40 proposals for a total revamp of the MLP.
“My vision is transforming Labour into a party which attains and surpasses the environmental, economic, social and European aspirations of all Maltese and Gozitans,” Muscat said, who is proposing a “movement grouping together progressives and moderates” that would lead to a “winning generation”, echoing his electoral slogan.
He said he was ready to engage with the Nationalist government “and put the national interest above everything else” and make “an effort towards national reconciliation with the other political parties and other sectors of society about political events that took place in the past.”
He said he would approach “all those who had stopped identifying themselves with the Labour Party to re-join”.
Muscat also pledged to turn a new leaf with “all the sectors of the media in the country”. Internally, Muscat is pledging a stronger media presence for the party, more emphasis on online media, and a second radio station dedicated exclusively to a young audience.
He is also proposing a code of ethics for Labour media, the appointment of a director of communications, and an analysis of the effectiveness of the party media.
Muscat said he would review Labour’s statute within one year of his election, together with a longer general conference and more regular contact with party grassroots, with meetings at least every six months.
Muscat said he had “the duty to speak clearly on what changes I would like to see in the party as well as the changes that I would like to see in the country. I believe this is the European way of doing things. If you choose Joseph Muscat, you are not buying a closed box but you know in advance what changes he is proposing and discuss,” he said, a clear reference to Falzon’s refusal to make any specific proposals about the Labour Party’s future in the name of consultation.