The perceptions as regards what is happening inside the Labour Party, and in particular to deputy leader Michael Falzon, vary according to which side you speak.

Those close to the leadership hint he is now concentrating on his forthcoming election campaigns in the district/s he will contest, hinting that Dr Falzon, following his outburst in Rabat two Sundays ago, is now fighting for his political survival, which he can do only as an elected MP.

But those more generously disposed in his defence argue that indeed he showed a deplorable lack of tact in his outburst and had to take almost everything back in just seven days.

He should have gone first to the Board of Vigilance, party insiders say, and only if he did not get any support there should he have externalised his concerns.

Nevertheless, say yet others, he is still popular with the party’s rank and file and the ‘retraction’ he made yesterday week was no retraction at all: he simply claimed this was a Nationalist soap opera. But meanwhile, he had made his point, with the party leader sitting next to him.

Dr Sant has not reacted to Dr Falzon’s outburst and it was left to party secretary Jason Micallef to tell The Times’ Mark Micallef “the case is now closed”.

Hardly.

Just as closed as the Lawrence Gonzi – John Dalli rift has closed.

Although it is difficult to generalise, it seems that the prevailing sentiment among Labour supporters is that the most important priority is to win the next election, leaving the settling of scores for later.

Yet this whole issue once again shows the way that anonymous letters have woven themselves into the Labour DNA. The original sin in this regard is, of course, that which darkened the leadership campaign in 1992, about which Lino Spiteri wrote last week. Since then, there have been others, targeting, among others, the party leader and the party’s secretary general.

The party, under attack, and not just from the PN side, over the Dr Falzon outburst, has now unleashed a two-pronged line of defence: targeting whatever minister Censu Galea said, or did not say, about “messes” in ADT, and blowing up as yet unascertained claims by Frank Portelli about irregularities in some Mater Dei contracts, without pointing out that Dr Portelli, who heads the St Philip’s Hospital team, may have an added interest, as well as Dr Josie Muscat, in fearing the upgraded Mater Dei may make people choose the country’s newest hospital instead of the private ones.