Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1525176
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 AUGUST 2024 ANALYSIS close, but where's the chemistry? focus entirely on party affairs. His reputa- tion as a workhorse completely dedicated to the party could dispel some of these fears. But delegates may resent the idea having someone running the party from an office in Brussels, who would have to rely on his proxies in Malta. One of them could be 'special delegate' Jason Micallef. The permanent elephant in the room There is one big elephant in any room where Abela and Agius Saliba are present: Joseph Muscat. After showing no hesitation in accepting the disgraced former leader's support dur- ing the MEP elections by inviting him to address his events, Agius Saliba is now per- ceived as a Muscat loyalist. So, will Agius Saliba stand as an obstacle to any attempt by Abela to distance the party from Muscat's judicial troubles? His election as deputy leader could cement the perception that Muscat is still pulling the strings by placing key allies in party struc- tures. Agius Saliba has already openly defied Abela by not supporting Roberta Metsola's bid for the EU Parliament's presidency, in a mutinous move that dispels any attempts at magnaminity from Labour. Can Abela ac- tually keep Agius Saliba on a leash? Jason Micallef's swift exit from the race raises the question whether the Muscat camp presented a decoy to the race, in a bid to force Abela to accept a compromise can- didate. And if that man is Agius Saliba, his election as deputy leader would be a victory for the Muscat faction, a less damaging out- come for Abela than having the unpredicta- ble Jason Micallef run the party. For sure, this sort of manoeuvring is also eroding Abela's authority, who is now not being seen as in control of his destiny, but simply reacting to events. The emerging troika The overall perception of Abela's lead- ership troika also depends on who will fill the more important role of Deputy Prime Minister, a post touted for Foreign Minis- ter Ian Borg, who has an uncanny ability to reinvent himself according to the role he occupies. Given Ian Borg's internal influence, it is hard to imagine that the post could be con- tested by anyone else in the parliamentary group. While he is burdened by his previous role in Muscat's cabinet, the Teflon politician has so far managed to emerge unscathed from scandals that happened on his watch or his questionable legacy in the plan- ning sector. His reputation as a doer still precedes him. And as foreign minister he has stepped away from the partisan fray while navigat- ing carefully in the international field in a balancing act between Malta's neutrality, tepid support for the Palestinian cause, and cozier relationships with the US and NATO. Since 2023, where Malta assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council, Borg has presided over various soft power gains for Malta inside international fora, like the OSCE this year, and in 2025, the Council of Europe. Like Agius Saliba, Borg, who originally intended to stand against both Abela and Fearne in the 2019 leadership contest, may well have future ambitions of his own. By accepting Borg as his deputy PM, Abela may once again be seeking to neutralise a potential rival, trusting that Borg's future ambitions and ability to adapt to changing circumstances could turn him into an asset in the next election. But again, it is unclear how all these future ambitions could either cement or poison the political chemistry in the emerging troika. And Labour's internal act of renewal might yet be dead legged by Agius Saliba's strong anti-abortion views, a sensitive issue gain- ing traction with feminist Labour voices, that could lead to abortion becoming what divorce was for Lawrence Gonzi's admin- istration. Agius Saliba might give a voice to Labour's dormant conservative faction, but such views could be a major turn-off for pro- gressives who are already jumping ship. The most damning indictment for Abela in this saga is that it shows that over the past four years, he has failed to nurture a talent pool from which he can pick potential fu- ture leaders with whom he can feel at ease. So, while Muscat remains a mentor for an entire generation of Labour activists, Abela, even after successfully navigating the trou- bled waters of a pandemic and a difficult international climate, has been too focused on governance and failed to co-opt a new generation of activists. Similarly, Abela has offered no coher- ent narrative to keep Labour's progressive flame burning, even while differentiating himself from the mistakes of his disgraced predecessor. One policy area where Abela could leave a mark is on gender equality. Ironically under his watch, the party which introduced gender quotas will end up being led by an all-male leadership troika. The 2024 European elections gave Labour a mid-term yellow card but instead of the shake-up it needs, the party has only seen factional manoeuvring rather than the much-needed policy debate on the issues that matter. How Labour's new leadership approaches this challenge in the run-up to the next general elections, could define the legacy of a party-in-government that has long peaked. On Friday, Labour MPs agreed on returning Rosianne Cutajar to the government's parliamentary group. MPs weren't expecting the issue to come up on the agenda of their parliamentary meeting. Ronald Vassallo Vassallo resigned as the Labour Party's head of communications, but said that he will remain available until the party's annual general conference in September. Rosianne Cutajar Is someone else next? Aleander Balzan A former Labour head of communications, Aleander Balzan tendered his resignation from the Office of the Prime Minister, where he had been working as a policy consultant. He denied having had any disagreements within the OPM's secretariat, and insisted he was returning to party activism. Claire Azzopardi Meanwhile, Net News has reported that Claire Azzopardi, a communications consultant at OPM, also resigned recently. MaltaToday has tried to reach out for comment. Mark Mallia Mark Mallia was appointed head of secretariat at OPM four months after he took the helm of Transport Malta back in February. Prior to this, Mallia was CEO of Identità . At OPM he's replacing Glenn Micallef, who is Malta's nominee for Eur opean Commissioner. Samuel Lucas A former ONE journalist, Samuel Lucas was appointed to the OPM's communications office.