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The latter is unlikely to be a formidable challenger and her Facebook post announcing that the time has come for the role to be occupied by a wom- an was greeted with widespread derision among Labour sympa- thisers. Micallef's threat Many delegates feel the party was "abandoned" over the past four years as the leadership dealt with the country's prob- lems and the party administra- tion lost its focus. "The party lost the administra- tive ability it had in dealing with complaints and reaching out to people who may have been put off by something and in these circumstances, it is no wonder delegates would look to an old hand like Jason Micallef but if we want unity he is not the right choice," another MP told MaltaToday, pointing towards a Facebook post Micallef put out on Saturday morning. In this post, Micallef thanked delegates and people who reached out to him for the posi- tive feedback. But he also made a veiled threat to "the hidden hands" he claims will be passing on stories about him to the "so- called independent media". "I know who you are," he declared. A PL delegate, who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of anonymity, expressed concern over Micallef's motivation to contest the post. "What he is saying about the need for re- newal is correct but I fear that Jason Micallef will be Joseph Muscat's long hand inside the higher echelons of the party and that worries me more than him not being a new face," the dele- gate said. Another delegate argued that although what Micallef was say- ing about the need to energise the party and its grassroots was true, he was not the right per- son for the post. "Jason Micallef is undoubtedly popular but delegates also know that the party needs new fac- es and needs to win elections, which can be put in doubt be- cause of the closeness to Joseph Muscat," the delegate said. Finding a worthy challenger Meanwhile, some MPs and delegates are toying with a pro- posal to change the party stat- ute so that MPs are allowed to contest the role of deputy leader party affairs. The proposal was initially floated by Robert Abela some weeks ago but party functionar- ies pushed back against it. With Micallef formalising his bid, the issue is likely to be raised again in tomorrow's meeting of the party executive. It was Abela who had piloted the statute change to preclude MPs from contesting the role of deputy leader party affairs in 2020. Abela had reversed a de- cision taken under the Muscat administration in 2016 when the statute was changed so that Konrad Mizzi could be elected deputy leader party affairs. There are conflicting opinions on what should happen though. A party delegate told MaltaTo- day that if Abela were to push for a vote to be held on a change in statute it would hand Mi- callef victory on "a silver plate". "Delegates and party func- tionaries have already pushed back against such a proposal and Robert Abela may not have enough allies at this stage to convince the party otherwise, which could lead to backlash and hand Jason [Micallef] victo- ry," the delegate said. However, another delegate said MPs should not be pre- cluded from contesting what is otherwise a political role. "The argument that a minister cannot occupy the role because they will not be focussed on the party does not hold water after all the person who will be step- ping down is an architect with a private practice," the delegate said. Sources close to the party leadership believe that only a member of parliament with stature among the grassroots could pose a proper challenge to Micallef. It appears that some have floated the name of Education Minister Clifton Grima, while others are rooting for Parlia- mentary Secretary Glenn Bed- ingfield. None of these two were willing to release a comment when contacted since they are precluded from contesting the role of deputy leader party af- fairs unless the statute changes. But any move to change the statute will require an extraor- dinary general conference to take place before 23 August when nominations for the dep- uty leadership vacancies and other posts in the administra- tion open. Nominations close on 25 August. Elections will be held on 13 September with a runoff slat- ed a day later if no contestant obtains an absolute majority. Elections will also be held for 12 members of the executive and the party's administration, which includes the president. The general conference will be held between 13 and 15 Sep- tember in what promises to be a battle for the PL's soul. Labour Party in quandary over Jason Micallef' deputy leadership bid Jason Micallef is a Joseph Muscat loyalist and continues to support the former leader as he faces corruption charges over the Vitals scandal (File photo) Micallef thanked delegates and people who reached out to him for the positive feedback. But he also made a veiled threat to "the hidden hands" he claims will be passing on stories about him to the "so-called independent media". "I know who you are."