Sitting quietly but confidently in his chair in his large office at the National Labour Centre in Hamrun, Opposition leader Dr ALFRED SANT has a steely determination and belief in his and his party’s success that is quite infectious. He speaks to Gerald Fenech on a variety of issues, from an overview of 2006, health, education, corruption, property prices and local councils to the possibility of a general election this year and of course… a Labour victory

Demonised by his Nationalist opponents, idolised by his party’s supporters, Labour leader Alfred Sant sometimes comes across as something of an enigma. What one cannot deny however is that he is dead set on winning the forthcoming general election and that is a certainty, no ifs or buts – according to Dr Sant at least.

I began with a fairly straightforward question: what were the main points of Labour’s strategy in the past year and what were the successes achieved?

“We first began by discussing the economy of the country, preparing plans on significant issues and then moved on to other areas such as education, health and other social issues to show that we are the party ready to take over the government of the country at any time. On the other hand, we scored a significant political success where we once again gained an outstanding victory in the March local council elections. We also adopted a critical stance on the government’s policies – or the lack of them as any party in Opposition should. This year, we hope to build on what we achieved in 2006 and will continue presenting our visionary plans for the future of the country”.

So it was pretty obvious that my next question would be: was Labour prepared if a general election were to be held this year?

“We are ready for the challenge even if the election were to be held tomorrow. We have a strong team of political professionals and have prepared a vast array of plans on almost every subject. We are going to maintain our close contact with the citizen and with all those social forces that represent the country’s various sectors. As you may probably already know, we have conducted scores of meetings with constituted bodies and other organizations to present our plans to them and we will continue operating in this manner with a wide social dialogue”.

However, although Dr Sant believes that politics is intrinsically the right way forward, he interestingly still maintains that local councils would have been better off if political parties were not involved.

“It would have been much better if politics had nothing to do with local councils because a lot of individuals who have much to give to their community choose to stay out of the councils at present. It is true that political parties mobilise large numbers of people but I still maintain that councils would work better if no political parties were involved. However, for the time being, we intend to stay in the running and I can state that we are scoring a large number of successes. However, if the PN have a change of heart and decide to pull out of the councils, Labour would have no hesitation in following suit.”

We then tackled a rather thorny issue – how does Dr Sant feel when the PN (more often than not) try to belittle Labour’s much vaunted plans by calling them “dilettantesque” or amateurish?

“We have been criticised for our pensions road map, which is not a plan, and anyway all the government did was play around with figures and after years and years of consultations, meetings and commissions, the mountain created a small mouse. On the other hand, the government, led by Dr Gonzi, launch a chorus of criticism against our plans stating that they cannot be achieved, or that they have done them already or else that they have nothing new to offer – typical contradictions we have now become used to. The truth is that the country is suffering from a crisis in public management including grim situations in the educational, tourism, health and SME sectors. We, as Labour, do not pledge to build Rome in a day with a lot of empty promises but are slowly and surely issuing plans on the various sectors mentioned and coming up with sound and achievable proposals in the process.”

Does Dr Sant still believe he can win the next general election even with two defeats under his belt although in the past years, Labour has won every electoral test, albeit on a local level?

“Definitely. And I must remind you that we also won a national election when we has a resounding triumph in the 2004 European Parliament elections, not to mention the substantial victories we achieved in the last three local council elections. The last elections on a national scale had special circumstances associated with them that are not present this time round. I am confident we shall triumph in the next election if and when it comes.”

We then turned to the recent announcement on the SmartCity project that has now come to a successful conclusion.

“We are all for the success of such a project if it is

really concerned with the

development of IT in the country and is not used for speculative purposes.

I have to remind you that this agreement was supposedly completed last year but we have been told that this has been concluded now. Another strange factor is that we have only heard the government side trumpeting the deal so we will listen, watch and wait for further developments before we commit ourselves.”

Another issue making the headlines is the Mater Dei Hospital project with the recent allegations of corruption surfacing to the fore yet again. Would Labour launch a serious inquiry into the whole saga if it were elected to power?

“I won’t exclude a proper investigation but our top priority will be to ensure that the Lm260 million spent will start reaping some sort of results. It’s no secret that the migration plan to the new hospital is still at a preliminary stage and we will try to ensure that things will start moving as quickly as possible apart from establishing a plan for the proper use of the St Luke’s Hospital site.”

What of the constant allegations made by Dr Sant on institutionalised corruption in all areas of government. Will a new Labour government ensure new ethical standards for ministers and officials?

“First of all, we have to ensure that the current Code of Ethics for ministers is fully respected – one has to mention here the recent case in which a parliamentary secretary used his government office for private business. We, as Labour, have always shown that we respect and adhere to strong ethical conditions.”

Are the people hungry for a new moral standard to be applied to government just as the American people threw out the Republicans from office in Congress on allegations of corruption?

“The corruption issue comes up quite often when we speak to people but the major issues remain the exorbitant cost of living and other social issues such as the power surcharge, difficult working conditions, health issues, education, the environment and the constant increase in the price of property. We will be tackling this issue within the parameters of a liberalised market but we will definitely intervene in the problem to facilitate housing at affordable prices for those who cannot afford it. We will be looking at solutions such as tax relief, public-private partnerships and other similar schemes such as subsidies on various levels.”

Finally, I asked Dr Sant about his personal plans for the forthcoming months and it looks like he won’t have much time for leisure.

“We will continue to be fully committed to bring about the necessary changes that the country is crying out for in the various sectors I have already mentioned. It’s not enough just to win the next election and stop there. We have to show that we are ready to govern and bring about the change based on our plan of work, protection and self-respect.”

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