And so the Malta Labour Party Election Commission thought it fit to impose a day of silence upon the candidates contesting for the leadership.

In this day and age of communications, and when the day of silence before a general election is incredibly redundant because technology has made it possible to pass on messages via email, the MLP chose to take this decision to stop candidates from making their last efforts to attract votes.

This is a political party that wants to show that it has changed and that it wants to start afresh. This is a party that is analysing a report, commissioned after the third election defeat, which says that the MLP should become more open-minded.

Unless there is a change in mentality – and all five contenders for the post have admitted this – the MLP will not attract the people who have so far shunned it.

The imposition of a day of silence shows that the MLP has more lessons to learn.

Simon Farrugia

Mosta