Former Labour mayor mulls deputy leadership run, against statute change

Former labour mayor Alex Sciberras is ‘considering’ running for PL deputy leader party affairs and joins Josianne Cutajar in opposing statute change that will allow MPs to contest

By: maltatoday.com

Aug 07 2024
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Former Labour mayor mulls dep

The former Labour mayor of Msida, Alex Sciberras, is “considering” contesting the post of deputy leader party affairs, MaltaToday has learnt.

Sciberras is also against a change in statute that will allow MPs to contest the post, joining former Labour MEP Josianne Cutajar, who made a similar declaration earlier today.

Cutajar, who was considering whether to contest the vacancy, will now wait and see what happens after the Labour Party executive on Tuesday acceded to a proposal put forward by Robert Abela to change the statute.

An extraordinary general conference will now be held on Friday and delegates will be asked to vote on the proposal. If approved it will pave the way for Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba to contest the post after a compromise agreement was reached between Abela and former secretary general Jason Micallef, who decided to stand down from contesting and make way for Agius Saliba.

When contacted, Sciberras, said he is “considering” running for the post, adding this is not the time for the party to further dilute its resources.

“The last election showed us that we must redouble our efforts, reinvigorating the party structures, laying the ground work for what will inevitably be tough times ahead,” he said.

Sciberras, who was a member of the PL executive, is a lawyer and the son of deceased judge Philip Sciberras.

“For the party to remain the natural home of all it must remain a wide-open party that provides the answers to the challenges of today and tomorrow. This means we need all hands on deck; each giving their all to the task they are entrusted with. Everyone has a part to play and the party is blessed with a wide pool of talent within its ranks,” Sciberras added.

Nominations for the two deputy leader posts and other key roles on the administration open on 23 August and close on 25 August, however, much will depend on the outcome of Friday’s EGM. The elections will then be held on 13 September.

Running a party from Brussels

But Sciberras’s doubts as to whether the post of deputy leader for party affairs can be filled by a sitting MEP were also reflected by several delegates who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of anonymity.

Agius Saliba’s name as a possible contestant caught many by surprise and left delegates perplexed how the party structures could be run from Brussels.

“Alex [Agius Saliba] is a party man, intelligent and a good politician but how can he occupy the role of deputy leader responsible for party affairs when he will be in Brussels for most of the week? We might as well have a minister occupy the post because at least they are in Malta seven days a week,” a veteran delegate who is opposed to the change in statute said.

The party statute was changed under Robert Abela’s leadership in 2020 to bar MPs from occupying the role after his predecessor amended the rules in 2016 so that Konrad Mizzi, then a minister, could contest the post.

In a reversal of opinion, Abela is now pushing for a change in statute, which would make it possible for someone like Agius Saliba to contest. The party executive had initially pushed back when Abela floated the proposal a few weeks back but the prospect of Micallef becoming deputy leader spooked many.

New tensions

A delegate said Abela was dead set against Jason Micallef’s candidature, which he deemed to be divisive. But the resultant compromise appears to have created new tensions.

“The compromise has left some MPs who would have considered running for the post disappointed, especially after Robert Abela told people close to him of his intention to field someone from Cabinet to counter Jason Micallef,” a second delegate told MaltaToday.

“Alex Agius Saliba’s name was never floated around but it seems to me the leader did have him in his sights as a last resort to convince Jason Micallef to stand down,” the delegate added.

Yet another delegate questioned whether the whole affair had Joseph Muscat’s finger prints all over it. Micallef is a Muscat loyalist and had accompanied the former leader to court when he was charged with corruption in the Vitals hospitals case.

“Robert Abela’s hand has been weakened in the aftermath of the June European election and it seems Joseph Muscat wants people he can bank on in key positions within the Labour Party; Alex Agius Saliba fits the bill without the divisiveness that Jason Micallef would have brought with him,” the third delegate said.

Agius Saliba had opened his European election campaign with a mass event in Triton Square, where he gave Muscat a speaking platform as rumours swelled that the former leader could be an MEP candidate.

The Labour parliamentary group is expected to meet on Friday afternoon with the proposed change in statute on the agenda. “The leader will try to get all MPs behind him on the statute proposal and the compromise deal, before delegates have their final say on Friday evening when the EGM will be held at party headquarters,” a source close to the PL told MaltaToday.