Labour in labour again?
Will changes in key leadership posts reinforce the influence of the Muscat old guard, or is a new winning team with ambitions of its own finally emerging?
At face value, the forthcoming changes in Labour’s leadership posts can be seen as a balancing act between different factions, with tensions between the old guard loyal to disgraced former party leader Joseph Muscat and those loyal to Prime Minister Robert Abela being pre-emptively defused by a ‘compromise solution.’
Having warded off an insurgency led by former general secretary Jason Micallef, who for a time considered becoming deputy leader for party affairs, Abela has settled on a new troika consisting of himself, MEP Alex Agius Saliba, and cabinet stalwart Minister Ian Borg.
This suggests that a diminished Abela has opted for the least damaging outcome after failing to co-opt his own team, after an electoral drubbing which left him more vulnerable to internal attacks.
While Agius Saliba basked in the endorsement of former leader Joseph Muscat during the run-up to the MEP elections, where he garnered nearly 60,000 first-count votes, Borg is perceived as a bridge between different factions, despite serving in Muscat’s cabinet and leaving a questionable legacy as a ‘doer’ in transport and planning.
Borg, the ultimate Teflon politician who has so far avoided any serious injury from the scandal ridden authorities under his watch, also has a remarkable ability to work with everyone and is seen by delegates as a safe bet.
The whole and the sum of the parts
However, Labour insiders believe that any analysis of the situation within the party must consider the ambitions and the added value which Agius Saliba and Borg bring to the table. In short, they contend that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.
While factional rivalries exist, delegates also know that both Alex Agius Saliba and Ian Borg are ambitious politicians with their own agendas, networks, and resources. They are unlikely to accept the role of proxies for others and will now be expected to deploy their energy for the party. Their future ambitions now depend on shoring up support for Abela and reversing the negative trend of the past year. They must now show that they are in it together.
A major consideration for Abela was reigning in potential rivals by keeping them close. He surely cannot afford a repeat of Agius Saliba’s insubordination, as was the case when the MEP voted against Metsola’s appointment as EU Parliament president.
Yet, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and much depends on the chemistry that emerges between the three strongmen. While some insiders fear Abela’s paranoia and inability to share power, others point out his ability to coexist and thrive in tandem with Chris Fearne despite the fallout from an acrimonious leadership contest in 2020.
Of course, this does not come without difficulties. As a sitting MEP, Agius Saliba will have to rely on his own network to wield his authority in the party. The appointment of his campaign manager, Leonid McKay—whose competence in public service is widely recognized—as the party’s new CEO suggests that Agius Saliba already has an operational plan.
More unpredictable is Jason Micallef’s role as “special delegate,” entrusted with overseeing the party’s electoral manifesto implementation in a role that turns the outspoken critic, also known for his sympathies for Muscat, into a watchdog of Abela’s executive.
Labour’s only contest
With Agius Saliba and Ian Borg uncontested in a sign of unity dictated by Abela’s fear of hubris, the only significant contest left is for party president, between former PBS editor Norma Saliba and former Msida mayor Alex Sciberras.
This may well turn out to be the only unpredictable outcome left in the forthcoming conference, where both Agius Saliba and Ian Borg have remained neutral, officially endorsing both candidates.
Moreover, what makes this contest interesting is that it goes beyond the current factional divides and could provide a glimpse into the party’s future evolution. While Saliba says she was urged to contest by Abela and is the only woman contesting for a leadership position, Alex Sciberras—the son of the late judge and socialist intellectual Philip Sciberras—is widely seen as a dynamic candidate who can appeal to both progressives and moderates and raise the level of discussion in party structures.
And while the post of president is less influential than that of deputy leader, it gives Sciberras the opportunity to raise his stature within party structures, possibly emulating Alfred Sant’s ascent in the party after a stint in the same role in the 1980s.
Despite his role in Muscat’s “winning generation,” which swept to power in 2013, Sciberras—whose left-wing credentials hark back to his activist days in Moviment Graffitti—had drifted away from the party during its scandal-ridden years and is said to have broken ranks with the Muscat clan.
In short, he comes across as a clean break, someone who embodies Muscat’s reformist zeal in civil liberties without having been party to the party’s moral collapse. Sciberras could also counterbalance Agius Saliba’s moral conservatism on issues like abortion, even if ideology has so far hardly featured in the party’s internal debate.
On the other hand, Saliba’s experience in broadcasting could be seen as an asset in a party that, for the first time, is struggling to get its message across. Moreover, if she is not elected, the party risks having all its main leadership posts occupied by men, even if this smacks of tokenism in a contest where both deputy leaders are male.
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