Euro Socialists sure MLP will say 'yes' to Constitution

The Group of European Socialists in the European Parliament is convinced that, at the end of the day, the Malta Labour Party will vote in favour of the EU Constitution.

In an interview with The Times, the vice president of the Socialist Group, Jan Marinus Wiersma, said he had come to such a conclusion following lengthy discussions with the MLP leadership.

The Dutch MEP had spearheaded the integration of the MLP into the European Socialist Group following Labour's 2003 electoral defeat.

"I think that accepting the EU reality was a very important step forward by the MLP. I know the EU is still a sensitive issue for the Malta Labour Party and so I respect the fact that the party leadership has decided to take some time to talk to the militants and its members. However, I have the impression, from what I hear, that an eventual general conference will reach a positive conclusion."

Mr Wiersma recalled that all the parties forming part of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament voted in favour of the EU Constitution with the exception of the three Maltese Labour MEPs. The group respected their decision to abstain.

"I think they abstained out of respect for the debate in their own party. If I were in their situation, maybe I would have also abstained. We actually made it clear in the Socialist Group that the position taken by the Maltese MEPs was acceptable because finally we believe the MLP will say 'yes'. The most important thing, after all, is that by saying yes to the Constitution, the MLP will also be respecting the stand of the Socialist Group."

Asked whether the Socialist Group felt that the MLP has abandoned its Euro-sceptic stance, Mr Wiersma said that following the general election in 2003 he had visited Malta and held a lot of discussions with MLP members.

"It was very important to talk to our colleagues and say that it will be very difficult to operate in the Socialist Group if the MLP's position in the next election will be to take Malta out of the EU ...we had very open discussions about that and the party leadership, at the end, supported by the general conference, said the MLP will now be working within the new EU membership context."

He said that although he realises that the discussion on the EU Constitution within the MLP will be hot, he believed the party will vote in favour. There might be a group of militants within the party who will say no, however, he does not think they will be in the majority.

"We had similar groups before in the Swedish and British Labour parties but eventually they faded away. The reality is that Malta is now a member of the EU and it has to operate within its structures."

Among the opponents of the EU Constitution are the two ex-MLP leaders, Dom Mintoff and Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici. Mr Wiersma said these are the same people who opposed membership and now cannot accept the fact of life that Malta is part of the EU.

Jokingly, he added that "it is quite logical that if these people are still against EU membership they should vote in favour of the Constitution because it provides for a way out of the EU!"

Asked what the Socialist Group's position would be if the MLP decided against the Constitution, Mr Wiersma declined to answer, insisting he was convinced the MLP would say "yes".

"We are not considering any other scenarios... but then I can only say that we respect internal party democracy... I am confident the MLP will say 'yes'. I keep insisting that my personal impression is that the outcome will be positive. At the same time we do not want to put pressure on the MLP... it's for them to decide but we expect it to be positive."

Mr Wiersma said that in the coming months, the leader of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, will be visiting Malta. He denied that such a visit had anything to do with the EU Constitution debate and said it "will probably not take place before the general conference".