Joseph Muscat is the new Malta Labour Party leader. Surprised? Not at all. I would have been extremely bomb-shelled if the contrary had happened. To be honest, I expected a better performance by George Abela following his concentrated and rigorous campaign, but it seems relatively understandable that the harm caused to him and Michael Falzon was very effective and fruitful to the advantage of Muscat.

Mind you, this is not David Casa saying it but it was Labour’s outgoing deputy leader, Michael Falzon, who confirmed it last Saturday. He opened a bitter and severe attack on Jason Micallef, declaring that the Malta Labour Party general secretary campaigned against him and Abela during the party leadership contest.

The machine of the MLP controlled every single phase of this absurd leadership battle. A censorship was imposed on the five contestants not to attend television show Xarabank and last week all contenders were not allowed to address their delegates through internet before voting. In a democratic party, the internet should be considered as the epitome of freedom of expression where everyone can say what s/he pleases, but yet this doesn’t occur in the MLP circles. Since Monday of last week, there was an invasion of good comments about Abela on HI5 (a social networking internet service) and it’s rather unmistakable that the order of censorship was issued only to uphold the interests of a particular candidate – I imagine you have no doubts as to who this candidate was!

This shameful campaign is now over and as a politician and a Maltese citizen, I can only hope that the MLP delegates made the right choice. For God’s sake, I really wish that at last, we can have an appropriate Opposition Leader who is ready to work closely with our Prime Minister for the good of our country. I hope that this is not cloud-cuckoo-land. As a fellow Member of the European Parliament, I wish the best of luck to Joseph and I look forward for Muscat’s “new political season”.

It’s time for Muscat to pull up his socks and start with his new and ambitious challenge. Party time is over!

The MLP is portrayed as incompetent, a party which cannot be trusted, a party with whom it is not easy to identify. Muscat has a long way to go to start proving himself as the captain at the helm of a sinking ship. He will have to dispose of some high-ranked party officials and give new blood to a dying socialist party if he wants to get rid of the tag of being his predecessor’s poodle. There is big mismanagement within the party according to the MLP electoral defeat report and Muscat will have to start from scratch to re-organise a divided party. Undoubtedly it won’t be easy for Muscat. Will he confirm himself, but more importantly, will he convince the electorate?

Let’s not forget that after the first round of voting, there were 439 MLP delegates who didn’t opt for Muscat’s headship. Personally I would have expected Muscat to clinch the leadership post after the first round with a higher percentage following a harsh and intensive campaign masterminded by the “party machine” to endorse Muscat. We should keep in mind that the leadership’s result within the MLP doesn’t reflect the public’s pulse to have George Abela elected as opposition leader. The new MLP leader will now have a hard-hitting job, as he needs to bring together a non-functional party. The MLP needs to start functioning and operating at the earliest possible. I expect a good socialist leader at last!

Now that Muscat is the new leader, will the Labour Party alter their political ways? Will they remain hardheaded and continue to oppose everything the government proposes?

The report published by the MLP, following their third uninterrupted crushing defeat, points out that prior to the general election, the Labour Party talked about SmartCity and Mater Dei in a negative manner, and even went into an argument with some well-known professionals who work in the new hospital. This is not the way to do politics.

I am now looking forward to see how Muscat and his “new team” will lead the party following an era of poor administration that failed to connect all the loose ends so that the factions within the party pull one rope. This was also noticed in the Labour Party electoral defeat report.

But if the present administration wants a new political beginning under the helm of Muscat, then all MLP high-ranking officials should walk out immediately to let some breathing space for the new party leader, hence not suppressing him in feeling obliged to anyone.

Muscat’s win can show the way for a new beginning for the MLP, but only if the new leader will have enough courage to eradicate old faces from the Labour Party that led them to several electoral embarrassments. Will he have the guts to do this?

David Casa is a Nationalist MP

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www.davidcasa.eu