News • 27 April 2003

Sant-Mintoff: The final showdown

Kurt Sansone

Despite the leadership struggle that is silently brewing in the Labour Party the one common factor that unites possible contenders and the current leadership trio is the opposition to the stand taken by Dom Mintoff and Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici against the ratification of the EU Accession Treaty.

Since the 12 April election the two former Labour prime ministers, who lead the Front Maltin Inqumu (Malta Arise Front), have been campaigning against the ratification of the Accession Treaty, which they claim requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority to be approved.

Constitutional experts say that an international treaty only requires a simple majority in parliament to be ratified, a view, which is accepted by high ranking MLP officials.

Over the past week it was Labour leader Alfred Sant who in his regular article in The Times said that the country must now proceed, shooting down any speculation that the MLP would try to create stumbling blocks for the treaty to be ratified.

Sant’s opening sentence clearly stated that the "ruling government majority will ensure that under existing constitutional rules, that ratification will be carried."

Fearing a backlash from the party’s grassroots, who still find it hard to stomach a change of policy on the EU, Manwel Cuschieri has repeatedly stated that there was no point in challenging the treaty on the grounds that it required a two-thirds majority to be ratified. Cuschieri’s twice daily radio programme has been inundated by Labourites asking Sant to stay on as leader and questioning what stand the party will take as regards EU membership.

In saying that there was no point to challenge the treaty, Alfred Sant has been joined by deputy leaders George Vella and Joe Brincat, possible leadership contender Evarist Bartolo, former Super One chairman Alfred Mifsud, renegade monk Mark Montebello and other Labour MPs, who have distanced themselves from Mintoff and Karmenu.

Dom Mintoff took to the streets on Monday at a meeting organised by the FMI in Zejtun. There was no mistaking the tone of Mintoff’s address. He said that the Labour Opposition had the duty to vote against the treaty when this was brought to parliament for ratification.

Mintoff said that common sense and honesty dictate that those who were against EU membership must now vote against the treaty.

At this point in time the Labour Party has no direction on how its MPs should vote on the issue. If Parliament is convened before the Labour Party general conference on 15 May the decision would have to be taken by the parliamentary group and the current Labour leadership.

A vote before the general conference, which is expected to crystalise the party’s EU stand, would most certainly create tension between old guard delegates and others clamouring for change.