Nine candidates for MLP deputy leaders

A total of nine candidates have submitted their name to contest the two posts of deputy leaders of the Labour Party.

Five - Michael Falzon, Evarist Bartolo, Manwel Cuschieri, Alfred Mifsud and Joe Debono Grech - are contesting the post of deputy leader for party affairs; four - Charles Mangion, Joe Brincat, Leo Brincat and Josè Herrera - that of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs.

The deputy leader for parliamentary affairs must be an MP, although the deputy leader for party affairs can be just a party member.

Both elections are being held on Thursday. To be elected, a candidate needs to obtain at least 50 per cent plus one of the votes cast. If no candidate obtains this number, a run-off will be held on Friday between the two leading candidates.

The Sunday Times yesterday spoke to all nine candidates about their vision for the party.

Michael Falzon, 41, feels that as deputy leader for party affairs he will continue building upon his role within the party since 1992, which has always been an organisational one.

"As deputy leader, I can continue strengthening the party's internal structure, paving the way for greater communication between the party's several branches."

Dr Falzon, a lawyer with a degree in banking, feels that change is a continuous necessity and not just within the Labour Party. "The MLP has to have the courage to update where needed by building on the considerable good within it," he said.

Known to be a disciplinarian to whom one can speak frankly, he is also known to be frank himself. Dr Falzon has been MLP election manager and party delegate within the electoral commission since 1993. He has been international secretary since 1998.

Asked whether, as a party official, he felt partly to blame for the MLP's electoral defeat, he said there was 96 per cent turnout in the election, which was higher in first seven districts which were predominantly Labour. This was the best proof that he had done his job well.

Contesting the same post is former Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, who is being mentioned as the likeliest successor to MLP leader Alfred Sant when he eventually bows out.

Mr Bartolo's main priorities as deputy leader are to work more with activists, deepening relationships among members of the party while reaching out to the voters in general.

Although elected to Parliament from two districts in every election since he first contested in 1992, he wanted to become deputy leader for party affairs since he was more interested in the political work this role provided, taking care of the party's structure.

He believes in the need for change and has been campaigning for this within the party. "Malta is going through change and the party has to keep up with what is happening. Even the Nationalist Party will have to change," he said.

Mr Bartolo, a 50-year-old journalism lecturer who has been active within the MLP for 23 years, says jokingly that he looks much younger than his age.

A somewhat controversial contender is party president Manwel Cuschieri, 43, who believes the time has come for him to contribute more to the party.

"I have several ideas and projects to work on to once again make the MLP the majority party. One such project is an English-language newspaper.

"I would also like to launch a continuous exercise through which party candidates meet people in their homes to better understand their needs and expectations. This exercise will also help us regularly identify potential candidates for local councils and general elections."

Asked whether he felt his phone-in programmes on the MLP's Super One radio had harmed the party in the last election, Mr Cuschieri described himself as a victim of a character assassination campaign.

He said that not one damaging fact had ever been identified on his programme.

Mr Cuschieri unsuccessfully contested the 1981 and 1987 general elections after which he joined the party's central administration. He has been MLP president for two years.

Another contender for the post is financial consultant Alfred Mifsud, 51, who also holds a Master's in Financial Services.

He believes he can use his experience of bringing about change to the benefit of the MLP, as he has already done as chairman of Mid-Med Bank and of Super One.

Mr Mifsud believes that the deputy leader for party affairs should take direct charge of the administration, making it more efficient. This was something he believed he could do.

Mr Mifsud unsuccessfully contested the April 12 general election and had chaired a committee to raise funds for the building of the party headquarters.

Party veteran Joe Debono Grech, 64, is also contesting the position, which he held between 1987 and 1992.

An MP since 1966, he still feels he has a lot to contribute especially since he knows the party inside out and has given it his contribution under three different leaders.

Mr Debono Grech has been a member of the party executive since 1961 and was propaganda secretary for 13 years. He has remained involved in committees and is currently a member of the Council of Europe's Socialist Bureau.

He was minister for parastatal and people's investments, agriculture, and port transport and communications.

Asked whether all this experience might make people consider him 'old' Labour, Mr Debono Grech said he had always been able to change with the times, he remained close to the people who sought his advice and now encouraged him to contest the position.

Having contested six elections, former Justice and Local Councils Minister Notary Charles Mangion, 50, is contesting the post of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs.

He believes he has always done his duty well, kept in continuous contact with the people, understood their expectations and believes that as deputy leader, he can help formulate policies with wider popular appeal.

However, he believes that Labour principles should continue to be respected. The MLP should remain centre-left and never abdicate its principles. The party had to continuously update itself according to developments and be pro-active rather than reactive.

"The Labour Party has a history to be proud of and we should build on it, doing away with what has not given results.

"This does not mean that we push away the people. I believe in a more inclusive party, all people who have Labour principles should have a place within the party and feel it is their natural home."

Dr Mangion has been active in the MLP since 1974. He served as Deputy Speaker between 1992 and 1994 and has shadowed industry, home affairs and local councils.

Another contender for the post is Dr Joe Brincat, a 59-year-old lawyer with a degree in economics, who is the outgoing deputy leader for party affairs. He feels that now that he has been elected to Parliament (he was not elected in 1998), he can contribute more as deputy leader for parliamentary affairs.

He already held this post between 1988 and 1992. He was deputy leader for party affairs between 1976 and 1980 and from 1998 to date.

So doesn't this make Dr Brincat feel old Labour? "Not at all," he says, adding: "One can be older in years, but be younger and more progressive in one's thinking than someone who is younger."

Although he feels there is need for change within the party, he feels no one should wash their dirty linen in public.

He believes that the party's position on the EU lacked the dreamy element of EU membership which turned out to be so attractive to the people. "But what is more attractive is not necessarily the most beneficial," he said.

Fifty-three-year-old banker Leo Brincat says he is willing to embrace new ideas and wants to transform the MLP into more of a listening party finely tuned to the aspirations of the electorate.

He believes the MLP should analyse well and give due consideration to the review being carried by the working group analysing the party's performance in the election campaign and adopt their recommendations as much as possible.

As deputy leader, he would work to democratise the party's structure even further, giving due attention to the grassroots but look further towards the discerning and floating voters.

The party, Mr Brincat said, should improve its relations with the media and he would be working hard for the national executive to review its boycott policies although he would respect any decision taken by the executive.

At 28, Mr Brincat became the party's youngest president and he was its longest serving international secretary, holding the position from 1982 to 1997.

He served as Minister of Commerce and Finance and chaired Parliament's Public Accounts Committee throughout the past legislature.

Describing himself as a "parliamentarian from the outside", lawyer Dr Josè Herrera is, at 40, the youngest candidate for either post.

"I think what MLP mostly needs is somebody who can bridge its different elements." Delegates, he said, had opted to elect the same leader and most of the other contestants for the post he was contesting had been there for a long time.

"If the team includes someone with a moderate approach to things, he could entice people who might have abandoned the party, and also the floating voters.

"I feel I can contribute in this area. I consider myself new blood, I have never held any ministerial position or any post within the party. I am a parliamentarian from the outside."

Dr Herrera believes that the MLP had to become more transparent and moderate its propaganda machine, which was preaching too much to the converted. There had to be change in substance and propaganda, it should adopt less rigid policies and be more flexible.

Dr Herrera has been elected to Parliament since he first contested in 1996.