The Malta Labour Party leadership race gathered more momentum yesterday morning as leadership hopeful George Abela laid out his vision for the party.

Unveiling his electoral manifesto at a news conference yesterday, which also happened to be Dr Abela’s 60th birthday, the party’s former deputy leader argued for a totally inclusive party that marginalises no one and that would “open the doors of the fortress to new people and new ideas” so that the party becomes the electorate’s “natural choice” and eventually the “natural government” of the land.

Dr Abela also announced that a petition doing the rounds calling for the MLP leadership vote to be extended from the party’s 900 delegates to its entire membership base will be presented to MLP president Stephan Zrinzo Azzopardi later this week.

Whatever the outcome of the choice before the party, Dr Abela stressed he would be running for the party’s top spot. What was important, he said, was that the decision on the party’s leadership would be taken from the head instead of the heart, by putting the party’s interests before personal interests and any sympathies with one candidate or another.

Dr Abela confirmed he was not interested in vying for a deputy leadership position, having, he said, already been there and done that. If not elected to the party’s helm, Dr Abela said he would nevertheless continue to serve the party and assist its new leader, whoever that might be.

“The Labour Party cannot afford to lose another general election,” Dr Abela stressed, adding that his leadership bid represented a “new beginning” for the party and the way in which it did politics. The party’s siege mentality, he said, had to be made a thing of the past, and the party had to consider itself as a “government in waiting”.

Similarly, confrontational politics needed to be put behind the party, which now needed to look to attack arguments rather than individuals, as has been the past practice. For the party to succeed, he said, it also needed to embrace the politics of consensus, where what is good is acknowledged and where the opposition works hand in hand with the governing party in the best national interest.

Dr Abela has returned to contest the MLP leadership position 10 years after having resigned as deputy leader in protest against the party’s choice to go for an early election in 1998, which ended up costing the party dearly at the polls.

Referring to his falling out with the party, Dr Abela said it was regrettable his advice to steer clear of “bad weather” had not been heeded. But instead of dwelling on the past, he said, “I want to look forward to making the MLP electable so the party wins the next election.”

The fact that Dr Abela is not an elected Member of Parliament does not impinge on his leadership prospects, and he explained yesterday that neither the party’s statute nor the Constitution prohibits the eventuality.

He said he would prefer concentrating on party affairs, as leader, before taking a seat in the House through co-option. The possibility of being co-opted as soon as he assumes the party leadership, he said, was also a very real possibility should he be elected.

Referring to the manifesto published yesterday, Dr Abela proclaimed, “This is what I stand for.” Dr Abela sees his vision as more of an action plan to overhaul the party, rendering it truly inclusive and democratic. Hence, Dr Abela’s approach is, as opposed to the social-democratic mindset, a “democratic-social” mentality in reflection of Dr Abela’s belief in full inclusion and democracy within the party.

The MLP, he said yesterday, needed to be able to attract voters from all walks of life. While embracing and nurturing the concept of the traditional Maltese families, other “minorities” also needed protection, in tune with the MLP’s tradition of fostering social justice at all levels.

Referring to the party’s organisation and financing, Dr Abela said the party needed to become “serious and efficient” for the good of the entire party and not only to serve factional interests.

As a starting point, Dr Abela proposed the setting up of an independent audit to assess the current state of affairs of the party’s finances. The MLP’s finances, he said, needed to be reorganised so that, in time, they would be placed upon a sound footing, while the party’s different “cost centres” would also be run in a “responsible and accountable” way.

The party, Dr Abela said, should be in regular contact with its hundreds of volunteer activists to hear out their ideas and to involve them more in the party’s decision-making process.

The party’s media outlets, Dr Abela said, needed to deliver the party’s messages in a positive way, while its media’s primary aim should be to inform, educate and entertain in such a way that respects truth, quality, decency and, above all else, the dignity of individuals.

“The party’s media is there to inform and let people come to their own conclusions,” Dr Abela stressed, adding that the party must also continuously seek to develop the best possible relations with all the country’s media and that the time of boycotting certain media outlets, as has been the practice, should also be put to an end.

Dr Abela’s manifesto outlined a set of principles to bind the party, including the statement that the party should always act in the best interests of the country, and as a committed member of the European Union.

In terms of education, Dr Abela stressed Malta needed to strive to achieve the EU’s Lisbon Agenda targets as quickly as possible. The MLP, he said, needed to continue to work to ensure education remains free for all, and that Malta’s state schools – as well as private and Church schools – have the highest levels of quality possible.

Malta must also continue to exploit its two languages – Maltese, which gives the country its national identity, and English, which is the Maltese citizens’ passport to the globalised world.

Health care, similarly, also needed to be kept free of charge while excellence in the areas of both public and private health care was to be of paramount importance.

The environment in the whole sense of the word, he explained, would also be a top priority and an area where he would work closely with non-governmental organisations and civil society at large.

On the economy, Dr Abela said the country needed sustainable economic growth in a scenario where the private sector was the dynamic force driving the economy while the government, as opposed to competing with the private sector, would create a favourable environment with reduced red tape in which the private sector could flourish. A better balance between direct and indirect taxation, he said, would also be sought so that taxation did not stifle private sector and individual initiative.

In terms of public administration, Dr Abela argued for a “clean and accountable” leadership of the country so that the public service delivered a better service and for the electorate to develop more trust in the country’s public structures.