From Mr E. Saliba

Being one of those Labour supporters who felt we did not fit in with our party for the last 10 years or so for far too many reasons, I feel the time has now come to stand up and be counted and break the silence we kept for the so called ‘good of the party’. So here I am shouting loud and clear that the Labour Party has to choose one man as its next leader…George Abela.

We need a man that can push Labour into the centre of Malta’s political spectrum and close the chapter of old fashioned, unelectable and socialist politics. All social democratic leaders across Europe who wanted their party in government did that, so why shouldn’t we do the same? Aren’t we done suffering one humiliation after another? Aren’t we fed up of being called imsieken (poor you) because we vote Labour? Did we need to sink so low in order to wake up to the harsh reality that Labour was unelectable?

Labour needs change, not the cosmetic, musical chairs kind but a change in mentality, style and last but not least in its leadership. We need a strong leader who can do whatever is necessary to rebuild the trust Labour lost with the middle classes, floating voters and young people. We need a leader that can carry out all the reforms Labour badly needs without looking whose kallu (corn) he’s going to tread and George Abela is that man. He will get rid of the extremists that seem to be trapped in a time warp and because he has no klikek (cliques) he won’t bat an eyelid if some head needs to roll, as no gain comes without pain.

George is a man of vision and charisma that can match and even surpass Laurence Gonzi. He will rid us of the siege mentality that has infected us for ages. He is no traitor, but a leader with the guts to say Labour was wrong in going for the 1998 election even though he risked his political career in doing so. Others, who felt the same, thought otherwise and preferred to remain silent or worse clapped their hands in the extraordinary general conference, which sealed Labour’s fate for at least two generations. Some of these men are now pretending the delegates vote in the upcoming leadership election, but Labour needs a leader not a follower or a lackey.

One last word for the Labour Party delegates. You have a very important decision to make. A decision that can give Labour the glory it once had or running the risk, like Miriam Spiteri Debono put it last Sunday, making the Labour Party the Malta Opposition Party. You have only one question to ask before casting your vote for the next leader – who can lead us to victory in the next election? Don’t be afraid of change – choose George Abela.

Eric Saliba

HAMRUN