The United States government was wary of the possible election of Labour in 2008, in that the US believed there were general leadership quality issues with former PM and PL leader Alfred Sant, whom the cable described as “erratic” in his decision making.

There were, according to the cable, “real issues at stake” in terms of multi-lateral security efforts involving Malta were Sant to have been elected Prime Minister back in 2008, according to the embassy.

Moreover, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had, according to the cable, promised the US ambassador (on 31 January 2008), that Malta would, controversially, join Nato’s Partnership for Peace programme if the Nationalist Party won the election.

The Labour Party, the cable notes, remained adamantly opposed to Malta’s membership, and that this opposition with regard to Malta’s willingness to support multi-lateral security efforts was the US government’s main concern with the potential Labour victory at the polls.

“After having to reverse stands on major foreign policy questions like Malta’s joining the European Union and then the eurozone, Sant specifically mentioned opposition to PfP in an otherwise vague foreign policy paper issued by the MLP in 2007,” the cable notes.

“Sant,” the cable adds, “has also indicated he would like to see a reduction in the visits by US Navy ships. A further factor appears to us to be general quality of leadership: Labour’s Sant can be erratic in his decision-making, as when he first supported Ship-Boarding Agreement [which allowed US forces to board and inspect ships flying the Maltese flag and suspected of being engaged in illicit activity], only to reject it as elections approached.

Historically, US relations with the Labour Party have been “troubled”, the cable explains.

“Under the leadership of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, who cultivated strong economic ties with Libya in the 1970s, Malta joined the Non-Aligned Movement. More recently (in 1996), a newly-elected Labour government under Alfred Sant withdrew from Partnership for Peace (PfP) within 24 hours of Labour coming to power. The withdrawal was part of a campaign pledge to uphold the constitutional requirement for Maltese neutrality.

But, by contrast, the cable notes that cooperation with the Nationalist administration “has been excellent”.

“Prime Minister Gonzi met with President Bush in September 2005, a meeting that launched a series of bilateral agreements including the Proliferation Security Initiative Ship-Boarding Agreement (SBA), which entered into force in December 2007; as well as an Extradition Treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.”

With Malta at the time having acceded to the European Union, the eurozone and Schengen Area, “and with virtually no daylight between the parties on the high-profile immigration issue, foreign policy differences between the parties are now minimal, and the Embassy has warm relations at multiple levels with officials from both parties.

“In the current [2008 general election] campaign the parties are focused on local issues such as social spending on health care, education, and issues of management and corruption. With the campaign less focused on large policy matters, the personalities of leaders within the parties and fatigue with the old guard of the ruling Nationalists are expected to play a large role in the campaign.

“Unlike the last election, which coincided with a referendum on Malta’s entry into the European Union that was opposed by Labour, there is no single overarching issue in this election. With no dominant issue, Labour is focusing on corruption and management issues, and fatigue with the current government is taking its toll.

“Some are attributing Labour’s upward movement in the polls to a sympathy vote for Sant − the Labour leader was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and is undergoing treatment. In any event, given the extremely narrow margins with which Maltese elections are traditionally decided, predicting the outcome of the race is not possible.”

That said, the cable also noted how “both government and Opposition officials had expressed cautious optimism to embassy officers at their prospects, with the Opposition showing particular excitement at the possibility of a return to power after being out of government for all but two of the last 20 years.

“A victory by the opposition in this EU member state would impact US interests in several ways, including by reducing possibilities for multilateral security cooperation.”