The Labour Party has always shown that it is united, PL deputy leader for Party Affairs Daniel Micallef told The Malta Independent on Sunday in an interview.

Micallef was asked about speculation regarding internal issues within the party since the reappearance of Joseph Muscat onto the public scene, through videos the former prime minister has posted on Facebook after his home was searched.

The search, and the way it was conducted, led to reports that it caused an uproar within the PL ranks and that there was a potential rift within the party growing. Several Labour supporters rallied behind Muscat and some reportedly questioned why Abela did not try to stop the search.

Micallef told this newsroom that the PL and its Parliamentary Group always showed that it is “united in a single interest to continue doing good for Malta and Gozo”. He said that he believes the PN had tried to paint its own problems onto “others”, referring to the internal problems the Opposition party recently faced.

Speculation has also been making the rounds about a potential political return for Muscat. Asked whether the Labour Party had any conversations with Muscat about his possible return to politics, Micallef said: “No”.

Speaking about the upcoming election, Micallef said that the party’s manifesto is at an advanced stage and that the manifesto looks to the future of the country.

“Our idea is to have a holistic programme that gathers all the needs of society, so that when one reads the manifesto, they will see the future of the country structurally laid out in a way that reaches every sector of society.”

 

Is the PL prepared for the election?

The work within the PL would be ongoing throughout the entire legislature. The LP is ready for the election, whenever it comes.

What stage are the electoral manifesto preparations at?

The PL's electoral manifesto is at a very advanced stage. The manifesto will be ready once it is approved by the PL's General Conference.

A political party's work, both when in government and when in opposition – albeit with different challenges when in government – is to continually hold policy discussions and debates. Over the last two years, as long as I have been PL Deputy Leader and that Robert Abela was elected Leader of the Party and Prime Minister, we had a number of initiatives that accelerated this process.

What I wanted to see more than before was that the LP, despite being in government, would not leave the policy sector completely in the government's hands, but would continuously participate. We did this in a number of instances, even in terms of participating in public consultations. We had the 100 ideas initiative that launched in August 2020. That process involved widespread consultation.

You don't start the manifesto halfway through a legislature; the fact that you would have policy discussions and consultations taking place all the time, is part of the process.

We then held a General Conference on Manoel Island in July 2021 and last October we held a political conference that included discussions on all sectors of society. All this is part of a process that leads a party to form its policies. What I can say is that the party will have a very strong manifesto that looks to the future of the country; a manifesto that I look forward to bringing to the people when it is ready.

What will be the main focal points of the electoral manifesto, what are the main pillars?

The main pillars will be the people's priorities. The key priorities, without a doubt, surround people's essential daily needs. Obviously, there are the economic aspects, social aspects, environmental aspects, work aspects and educational aspects. It is not a question of having one pillar or another which overshadows the other priorities. Our idea is to have a holistic programme that gathers all the needs of society; so that when one reads the manifesto, they will see the future of the country structurally laid out in a way that reaches every sector of society.

If elected, what will be the PL's top priority? What is the first thing you intend to do in the next legislature? In addition can you reveal a couple of the proposals for the manifesto?

These questions can be answered once we are in an electoral campaign. There is an ongoing process, there are the party structures and when the moment arrives, the LP will reveal its proposals and give the deadlines for the proposals it will make.

The LP has been seen trying to play down the large gap between it and the Nationalist Party. The Prime Minister had even said that it starts at 0-0. Realistically speaking, that is not the case and there is a large gap. What are your thoughts?

What the Prime Minister had said, I had said a number of years ago in a General Conference.

I agree with what the Prime Minister said. Whatever the surveys show, they don't count. At the end of the day, what counts is the people's choice on Election Day. 

If a survey is good for a political party, what are they meant to do? Are they meant to stop working? If a survey is bad, what are they meant to do? Give up? No.

The answer in both eventualities is that you would take note of what is being published, but work with the same rhythm and determination to improve and do the best you can so that the party would be relevant and a political force that, in our case, brings change.

Our priority is always to continue bringing change to the country.

A recent survey saw a drop in the PL's lead, where the gap was cut by around 10,000. Why do you think this happened?

First there was more than one survey published and the figures were different. As I said in the preceding answer, one pays attention to a survey, which is a snapshot, and the more time passes the frequency of surveys published will probably increase. Aside from the survey you are mentioning, there was another survey published on the same day. If I had to stay discussing many surveys, I would contradict what I said before, that no matter what the surveys show, the answer of every political party should remain the same, to keep working.

It’s an open secret that the reappearance of Joseph Muscat resulted in some internal tension and issues within the PL. Do you think it will be a problem for the party with the election coming up?

I believe that the PN tried to paint its own issues onto others. It is not a question of internal turmoil. The PL and its Parliamentary Group always showed that it is united in a single interest to continue doing good for Malta and Gozo. 

So you're saying there weren't any internal problems after Joseph Muscat had spoken up the way he did?

It was just a PN spin in an attempt to make people believe there was a division within the PL, including through stretched interpretations. But the public can read things well. At one point the PN tried to make people believe that something was said, but people are not stupid. The people heard all that was said, and in fact something else was said.

So you're denying that there are internal problems… saying it was an outright lie?

As I said, it was a campaign attempt by the PN to try and paint what is theirs onto others. If you ask the public which is the divided party in Malta, I think everyone would give the answer, and even PN exponents will confirm it, as they were on record, time and again, even recently, referring to the divide within the PN. 

The PL has been criticised for keeping some MPs on despite the scandals they were a part of. One example would be Rosianne Cutajar. Why not, as a party, take a stronger stance and not allow such candidates to re-contest?

When there are cases of this kind, each case has to be taken on its own. There were people who carried their political responsibility and there were cases where unjust allegations were made. At the end of the day, regarding the cases you are referring to, I believe that the people who allegedly had shortcomings – as there are pending proceedings in a number of them – carried their responsibility.

But shouldn't we as a country, and this applies to both parties, demand more from our MPs. Shouldn't it be a case where people who have been tainted by such scandal, not be in a position to remain in power?

Obviously we should demand the highest levels of ethics and standards from all public officials, from all MPs. There is no discussion about that. Then it would be according to what the shortcoming was. In every case political responsibility was carried.

It is good to remember that political shortcomings did not start now. But I don't really remember resignations during preceding administrations. It is not a question of saying that there weren't many shortcomings because there weren't many resignations. There were shortcomings, there were Auditor General reports with very overwhelming conclusions.

There were also allegations concerning MPs who were being investigated, but, once their names popped up, investigations stopped. I think we need to put everything into perspective.

There's been some speculation about a possible political return by Joseph Muscat. In 2021, Muscat hadn't ruled it out. Has the party been in contact with Muscat over some form of political return? Be that as someone behind the scenes of the party or as an actual candidate?

If one interprets what Joseph Muscat said, in the context of what he said, your interpretation is not my interpretation.

What was your interpretation of it?

My interpretation is that Joseph Muscat, and he had said it a number of times, when he entered politics as Opposition Leader he had spoken of the length of time he wanted to spend in politics. He repeated that more than once and after the 2017 election he had again spoken those words. For me, there isn't much to interpret.

Has the Labour Party had any conversations with Joseph Muscat about his possible return to politics in any way shape or form?

No.

The Labour government has, for a number of years, faced one scandal after another. Do you think those days are behind you? Do you think the LP can turn a new leaf and that such scandals would be a thing of the past? I'm referring to worries and concerns about transparency by the government when signing certain contracts – scandals like the Panama Papers, others like Cafe Premiere, favouring developers, etc. Do you admit the LP has made certain mistakes and, going forward, could you pledge that it will not make similar mistakes again?

Robert Abela as Prime Minister was very clear that under his leadership, while continuing to build on the much good that there was, certain shortcomings are being addressed. Shortcomings are being addressed and yes we need to raise the level in terms of the way things are done. Over the past two years, government undertook a legal revolution in a number of institutions – where the PM divested himself from a large number of powers he had. The message is clear. Yes from this aspect there was the need for change and those changes are being implemented.