Forty-three are the years that my friend and colleague Karl Chircop lived. But in life it is not the years that we spend on earth that count, but how we live them. In the last weeks we heard a lot about the qualities of Karl and one can say that he lived to the full. Last Saturday we gave him a very well deserved tribute.

Personally, after 12 years seeing him in Parliament, I still cannot believe that he is missing. Though he is missing in flesh he is still very much present. I remember him entering the Chamber with his typical smile while we greet each other during a parliamentary sitting. I recall the discussions that we used to have on particular issues. We also used to tease each other about our favourite football teams Liverpool and Juventus. Even his ring-tone on his mobile sounded to the tune of You Never Walk Alone, the well-known song of Liverpool FC.

But Karl was not only a politician. Above all he was a father and a doctor. He liked his profession because he saw it as another way of helping people in need. His family was fundamental and when he mentioned someone of his family his face would illuminate and his eyes gleam. These are some of the moments how I want to remember him. After the reshuffle that we had in the shadow cabinet after the last general election, I have the honour to sit in the same seat that he used to sit on in Parliament.

Now it is up to all of us to give the necessary support to his family so as the dreams that Karl had for his four children will materialise. A reflection that I would like to share with you is that we find a lot of good words to spend on someone else when this person is missing and this is good. So let us try and say at least one good thing on each other while we are still alive. I am sure that this world will be a much better place.

Eighty-eight

The Malta Labour Party is 88 years old. It was on the 15 October 1920 when a group of people met and on their first meeting they agreed to form a party to help all workers and families improve their quality of life. For this occasion the leader of the Malta Labour Party Joseph Muscat inaugurated an exhibition at the national headquarters to commemorate this event. I am very proud to belong to this party which brought change in our country and was also a catalyst to build our democracy.

Voting rights for all men, women and youth from the age of 18 years, the introduction of social services, free health services, legislation to protect workers including the minimum wage, compulsory and free education for all, the setting up of companies both public and private which provided and still provide work for thousands of people and freedom from the British. These are some of the achievements which the Labour Party, which is now 88 years young, brought for our nation.

Of course those who gave their service to the country by working in this party made mistakes as well, even though the intentions were good. Our leader Joseph Muscat apologised for these mistakes. We do expect that others follow suit. This is an exciting time for the Labour Party, where Joseph is advocating change to have a modern organisation for today and tomorrow. Today’s activists are eager to work with our leader to bring the necessary change while acknowledging that not everything was bad or need to be changed.

I believe that if the Labour Party does the correct things, has the right policies in place and explains them clearly, we will get what we already deserved. We deserved to be in government not for our own sake but because the country needs Labour especially after so many years of the same administration, which ran out of new ideas. When I contested for the post of Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs I used to say to the delegates that we need to win the hearts of the people. This is not an easy task but under the leadership of Joseph Muscat and an extra effort from all of us who work in this party will succeed in doing so. Ad multos annos Labour party.

The merger

Both the members of the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and those of the Federation of Industry agreed that it is now the time to work more closely together as one Chamber. In Parliament we discussed this since we had to amend the Commercial Code to reflect this merger. On behalf of the opposition I welcomed this merger and offered our collaboration to the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry so that we can work together for the benefit of the country.

Carmelo Abela

Deputy Speaker &

Labour main spokesperson for industry and foreign investment

Email: [email protected]