Pressure to change MLP administration

Former Speaker Myriam Spiteri Debono, known to be a close ally of Alfred Sant, is collecting signatures for a petition so that the Labour Party's administration would be changed before January, when its term expires.

Party sources said Notary Spiteri Debono collected signatures from delegates last Friday at the party's general conference in which Dr Michael Falzon was elected deputy leader for party affairs.

Dr Charles Mangion was elected deputy leader for parliamentary affairs on Thursday.

The petition to change the administration was meant to show that the party was willing to change.

"The problem is that the party has started changing and will probably continue to change, but Alfred Sant, who many believe should have gone, will stay on," the sources said.

The sources said the party delegates "did not have much choice" when Dr Sant was re-elected leader, mainly because of the way the party media rallied in his support before the contest.

"Dr Sant's people lost heavily in the elections for deputy leadership. Dr Sant got 67 per cent, just as much as Michael Falzon did. Dr Falzon beat Evarist Bartolo who polled under 33 per cent. Many of the delegates felt Mr Bartolo was Dr Sant's preferred candidate.

"In the elections for the deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, Dr Mangion polled just over 54 per cent and was elected in the first round. Leo Brincat, who many saw as Dr Sant's preferred candidate, polled close to 27 per cent.

"These results show that the party wants a change. The fact that party president Manwel Cuschieri fared so badly, obtaining a mere 66 votes, was a clear signal," the sources said.

The sources said that those who voted for both Dr Falzon and Dr Mangion knew of their connections with the former deputy leader for party affairs, Dr George Abela.

"Many in the party believe that Dr Sant will not stay on as leader for very long," the sources said, adding that both the newly-elected deputy leaders were known to have had strong disagreements with Dr Sant in the past, notably over EU membership.

Dr Mangion has resigned as justice minister in the short-lived Labour government of 1996-98 after he gave the go-ahead for a presidential pardon to a prisoner convicted of drug possession without seeking Cabinet approval following advice from the attorney-general's office.

The sources said Dr Sant had initially not intended to accept Dr Mangion's resignation but did so when it was feared the matter would blow up into a political issue.