When party delegates met to oust Sant

Labour Party supporters, including party delegates, had held secret meetings. several months before Mintoff's eruption in parliament which brought down the last Labour government. On the agenda: how to oust Alfred Sant from the party leadership.

At first only some eight people were involved in such meetings but after a few months the number increased to around 250. They were against taxing health services; the planned 200 per cent water and electricity bill price hikes. During meetings Dr George Abela's name was mentioned as a possible new leader. Some MLP deputies and even Ministers knew what was happening and there were a few in favour of such a change.

At the time no one dreamt that the Labour Party was about to lose the government even though serious rifts such as the resignation of Minister of Finance Lino Spiteri had already come about.

Persons present at the meetings told MaltaToday that no one had asked Prime Minister Dr Alfred Sant to link the vote on the Cottonera contract to a vote of confidence in the Government. Nevertheless, he persisted in his strategy and was taken to the polls before he knew it. He had informed parliament of his intentions only seconds before the crucial vote was taken.

When Dr Sant sought an endorsement from the General Conference of the Labour Party for early elections, he emphasised that it was early elections or turning the government into a puppet.

The same person told Malta Today that the conspirators expected Dr Alfred Sant tolose at the polls. They also expected him the Labour leader to resign after the drubbing, andit made sense to keep him as leader until after the election., That's how he went to the polls with a 93 per cent approval from the party conference.

As Dr Sant spoke in the House, he was launching his Party’s election campaign. He was pathetically below his own best performance and there was no sign of enthusiasm from government MPs. Worse than that, he showed that he has not learnt much over the previous twenty months and only wished to persist in his ways.Malta Today was also told that the anti-Sant movement had asked Paul Muscat, the newly ousted Cospicua Mayor ,to tackle the issue of water and electricity increases with Sant. Mr Muscat obliged and met Alfred Sant. His warning went unheeded. Paul Muscaqt has been in Alfred Sant's black books ever since. The rift between the two increased when Paul Muscat alleged that the election for the Labour Party leadership between Dr Alfred Sant and Lino Spiteri had been rigged.

Malta Today asked Paul Muscat to comment about all this, but the former Mayor declined. He also declined to say whether he would contest the next Cospicua Council Election as an independent.