Abolition of PL secretary to be ‘debated in workshop’
One of several ‘workshops’ in the upcoming Labour general conference will debate a motion that will abolish the post of party secretary-general: an administrative post in force since 1977.
While interpreted as a democratic ‘short-cut’ for the PL to abolish the post of an elected secretary-general, delegates who spoke to MaltaToday said it will the general conference – which collects all party delegates – that will vote on the abolition.
The post’s abolition will first be debated in the workshop, and then presented to the general conference’s delegates in the form of a report.
Delegates will be voting on a fait accompli on the motion, which was initially moved by Labour leader Joseph Muscat to the national executive committee, two weeks ago. Muscat pushed the motion to abolish the post after preferred candidate Edward Zammit-Lewis turned down the offer to take over from former secretary-general Jason Micallef.
He will also be dismantling a post that had turned into a veritable power base: Micallef often conflicted with Muscat’s handpicked chief executive, James Piscopo, who was chosen shortly after Muscat’s election as leader to take over the day-to-day administration of the party.
But the overlapping of roles often found Micallef and Piscopo at loggerheads with each other. Muscat decided to show Micallef the way out by offering the role of chairman of One TV productions.
The PL also has two deputy leaders, one an elected MP to handle parliamentary affairs; the other a deputy leader for party affairs. The latter post was created by Dom Mintoff as a counter-weight to the power wielded by his deputy leader Lorry Sant in the 1980s.
Joseph Muscat has been keen on consolidating the centralisation of power inside Labour. By appointing James Piscopo to the role of party CEO, he enjoys a direct link to the party’s day-to-day running with an official who is solely answerable to the Labour leader.
On the political side, the secretary-general’s role will be supplanted by the deputy leader for party affairs, Toni Abela. The party has two deputy leaders, one of which is an elected MP responsible for parliamentary affairs.
Removing the secretary-general’s post will also shift more political clout to the party’s president – Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi. Zrinzo Azzopardi’s father Joseph Zrinzo, who is also a member of the Labour national executive, was one of the supporters of Muscat’s motion to abolish the post of secretary-general.
The motion was presented to a poorly attended national executive of just 27 members, some of which spoke to MaltaToday of being unable to oppose what seemed to be a fait accompli from Joseph Muscat.
“None of us are that stupid to object to such a motion. It would have been our end. The leader is everything in this party. But this is far too much,” an insider commented with MaltaToday two weeks ago.
No posts from the party’s executive committee will be contested in the general conference, meaning incumbents Zrinzo Azzopardi, Louis Gatt, Ray Azzopardi and Alex Sceberras Trigona will be reconfirmed in their roles.
Two new positions are expected to be created: an equal opportunities coordinator, and a local committees coordinator.
The conference will also elect 12 members to the national executive. 17 candidates will run for seats on the committee, namely: Frans Agius, Mario Azzopardi, Jonathan Brimmer, Gerlene Camilleri, Maria Camilleri, Krista Caruana, Guza Cassar, Nettu Farrugia, Alfred Grixti, Brian Hansford, Stanley Mifsud, Alexander Muscat, Alex Sciberras, Salvu Seychell, Antoinette Vassallo, Nikita Zammit Alamango, and Alison Zerafa.
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