The Labour Party’s new leader, Joseph Muscat, finds himself having to deal with extremely bitter comrades in the aftermath of his election as his contenders show no sign of closing ranks.
The 34-year-old leader’s rivals were yesterday ruling out any involvement in the party under Muscat’s rule, with his runoff contender George Abela excluding the possibility of holding any post in the MLP although he said he would still somehow give his “contribution to the party”.
“The leadership post was the one I thought I could contribute in most, so I am not directly interested in any specific role or area within the party now, but we’re still in early days,” Abela said.
The reactions of the three other contenders, who are also MPs, suggest that the new leader will have to negotiate a bitter minefield in the coming days.
And yet, Muscat yesterday extended a hand of reconciliation to his colleagues, thanking them by name and reiterating his priority to open up the doors of his party to everyone.
“If you’re not going to come to the Labour Party, I will come to you to listen about what’s hurting you,” Muscat said in a televised message yesterday night.
Clearly hurt is the outgoing deputy leader for party affairs, Michael Falzon, who in the last days of the campaign lashed out at the party after he was singled out in the defeat report, while others whom he said were directly responsible for the discomfiture were not even named.
Yesterday he gave a categorical “absolutely not” in reply to the question of whether he would contest for the deputy leadership or any other post, adding that rather than the party he will now focus on his 10th district constituency that elected him to parliament.
“The delegates have chosen, had they wanted to elect me they would have voted for me, so I will not contest any other role,” he said.
In his weekly MaltaToday column (page 23), Evarist Bartolo speaks of a whispering campaign aimed at discrediting his leadership bid and says it is “too late now” for anyone to expect him to contest for the deputy leadership.
“Last Thursday evening the Labour delegates told me very clearly that they do not want me to lead,” Bartolo writes. “And that I will do. I will not lead in any formal position within the party, not even as a deputy leader despite a whispering campaign in the last two months that I was not really interested in getting the top job, but only in becoming deputy leader for parliamentary affairs. Delegates were kindly told they should not waste their vote voting for me for leader as then they could vote for me as deputy leader!”
Bartolo adds he was initially ready to serve as the leader’s deputy. “But I was told very clearly that I was not wanted. So it is too late now. Those who did not consider me good for the post of deputy leadership two months ago cannot expect me to trample over my own self respect and dignity and beg again for the post now.”
Bartolo ends with a warning shot, saying that while delegates voted for change, he hoped this would not be the kind of change described in di Lampedusa’s novel Il Gattopardo: “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca – who turned out to be the least popular among delegates garnering only 26 votes on Thursday – gave a curt “no comment” yesterday.
“I have taken a decision to not give out any comments as yet,” was her uncharacteristically abrupt reply. “I will not comment on the reason why (I’m not commenting), but I decided not to comment.”
Meanwhile some of Abela’s public supporters were also lukewarm to Muscat’s call yesterday.
Alfred Mifsud did not even bother commenting, saying he was “out with a lot of people”.
“I’m not available for comment today,” he said after weeks of lobbying in public for Abela.
Lino Spiteri ruled out any comeback: “I resigned from politics in 1998. I did not have plans of involvement, whatever the outcome.”
More partial to Muscat’s call was Dominic Fenech, who was also named specifically by the new leader in his morning’s press conference as one of the intellectuals needed by the party.
“Since the end of my term as general secretary my role within the party has always been of support. I have never considered contesting for any post. … I don’t know, but I can tell you that I have never been approached to work in any specific area so far.”