Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/635436
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 FEbruArY 2016 7 before the former became party leader; he later very reluctantly handed over power after securing a third term. Ultimately Muscat's decisions may be dictated by one overrid- ing consideration: his desire to go down in the history books as a winner who was never beaten in an election. Judging by his trust rating and performance on the economy, Mus- cat may be confident of winning the next election despite growing disillusionment with his govern- ment on issues related to good gov- ernance. But it is hard to predict the outcome of the election after the next, which may see Labour facing a reinvigorated Nationalist Party. Muscat may well be making his calculations. He may step down before the 2021-2023 election if he smells de- feat, while staying on to win and hand over power to a new leader immediately after if he smells vic- tory. But probably for anyone taking the job of deputy leader now, the best prospect would be a re-edi- tion of the Blair-Brown deal which would see him or her in Castille riding on Muscat's success in a third consecutive electoral victory. Yet even if Labour wins an unlikely victory after 10 years in power, any such leader would be a lame duck diminished by the near impossibil- ity of winning a fourth consecutive term for his party. In fact anyone with real leadership ambitions may well keep away from the fray un- til Labour's probable defeat in ten years' time, to run the party from the opposition benches. Choosing the anointed one? It remains unclear whether Mus- cat has a successor in mind. More- over, if he has someone in mind he may well not advise him to contest as deputy leader now. This is be- cause anyone who is elected deputy leader at this stage would share Muscat's legacy and burdens. The leadership prospects of any- one elected to serve as deputy leader now would depend on Muscat win- ning not just the next election but also the one after it. For if Muscat is defeated, his deputy leader will also share the burden of the defeat. On the other hand if Muscat wins the next two elections, the keys to Castille may be in his or her hands – without even having to lead the party to victory. One major disadvantage for any designate leader is that the party cannot predict who the PN leader will be after the next election or the one after. One may assume that Busuttil will only remain at the helm if he substantially decreases the gap between the two parties at the next election. But if the PN suf- fers another heavy defeat, it would be very hard to predict who the next PN leader will be. A change in the PN's leadership may change the dynamics of confrontation between the two parties, making the anoint- ment of a future Labour leader now, somewhat premature. One advantage for Muscat of hav- ing a designate leader now is that of not having to face tensions between rival candidates jockeying for the post, during his second term of office, during which his authority may be weaker in the face of a re- surgent opposition. But by having a deputy leader elected now, Muscat may well cre- ate grudges from those feeling let down by the party machine. There- fore Muscat may opt for someone like Konrad Mizzi, who is perceived not to have leadership aspirations of his own and who will serve as a "technocrat" in what was previ- ously a political role. Moreover the long term implica- tions of the contest will depend on whether the post will be contested by rival candidates. If the post is contested, Muscat will be expected to guarantee a fair contest. If it is not contested the risk for Muscat is that the election will be regarded as stage-managed. On the other hand candidates with real leadership ambitions may well bide their time and give this contest a miss. It also remains unclear whether the dep- uty leader will be elected by rank and file members or by the party delegates. Potential candidates Konrad Mizzi, widely seen as a competent technocrat with no roots in the party's history, has been touted for the post. Nothing could better symbolize the party's drift to the right than the passage from Toni Abela to Konrad Mizzi, whose major legacy is that of pri- vatising energy and the health services. Moreover Mizzi's ap- pointment as deputy leader would send mixed messages on the party's commitment for good governance. For while Mizzi has a reputation for business-like efficiency, his wife's appointment to a highly paid gov- ernment job has exposed Labour to allegations of nepotism. Moreover Mizzi's appointment will transform a role which served as a counterweight to the leader's power into one which consolidates it. For Mizzi embodies the ideologi- cal transformation of Labour from a socialist party to a managerial party with neo liberal inclinations. A Mizzi election to deputy leader would indicate that Muscat is not interested in grooming the next deputy leader as the party's future leader. In a way, by backing Mizzi, Muscat may be simply postponing the leadership issue while still of- fering one of his most competent ministers for the party. For Mizzi clearly lacks the charisma and gravitas of a leader despite being one of the positively rated minis- ters in Muscat's cabinet. Moreover it is doubtful whether Mizzi, who already heads a super ministry which includes health and energy, has the time required to administer the party. While Mizzi may put his managerial skills at the party's disposal, his appointment suggests that the party is no longer seen as a place where ideas are de- bated and where the government's ideological choices are questioned. Clearly Mizzi's election would sug- gest that the government is taking over the party, which would be rel- egated to a cheer leading role. Other potential candidates for the post could include young, promis- ing lawmakers like Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, who may be closer to the party's social democratic roots, popular tourism minister Ed- ward Zammit Lewis, and Deborah Schembri, who appeals to switch- ers, a category whose support Mus- cat cannot take for granted. In a bid to pre-empt the PN, the PL may even opt for Miriam Dalli, to forestall a PN led by Roberta Metsola. New promising candi- dates such as Aaron Farrugia – who are close to Muscat's political vision – may also set their sights on leadership but this depends on them being elected to parliament at the next election. Still, if these contenders have real leadership as- pirations, they may well bide their time and let Mizzi go uncontested on the assumption that he will not contest a future leadership contest. While Labour may appear to be spoilt for choice, most of the poten- tial candidates still lack the sense of gravitas expected of a future party leader. Ironically the party had more viable options in 2008 when Muscat's challengers included two future presidents; George Abela and Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and seasoned politicians like Evar- ist Bartolo. Muscat's centralizing drive What is sure is that the proposed change to the statute completes Muscat's drive to centralize the party in a way that his legacy may well outlast him. In 2008 Muscat was given a blank cheque by his party to render La- bour electable after three consecu- tive defeats. He refashioned it in his own image, jettisoning the post of secretary-general – which creates a rival power base – and appointed his own CEO and brought in out- siders to fill the ranks of an alter- native government. In some ways the deputy leader for party affairs represented the last democratically legitimized post to counterbalance this centralizing drive. Bolstered by an unprecedented 36,000-vote and a nine-seat ma- jority Muscat retains his trust lead over the PN, which is still reeling from the electoral defeat and the baggage of its recent past. Muscat says he leads a 'movement' that includes persons more loyal to him than to the party which he has eclipsed, without evoking any reac- tion. Apart from Marlene Farrugia's, who has now left the party, there is little dissent in the party. There is no left-wing minority, although that may yet emerge, as happened with British Labour, with Jeremy Corbyn's surprise election by rank and file members rebelling against the drift to the right. By fashioning the party in his own image and eclipsing it, Mus- cat has made it hard to imagine any successor standing out. With no visible dissent or any real ideo- logical debate, Muscat could opt to appoint a deputy leader who shares his mind frame but lacks his gravi- tas. This would mean that the lead- ership issue would crop up at a later stage. In that, the bad news for any aspirant would be that the next La- bour leader's term would probably coincide with the end of Labour's cycle in government and the start of a new one in opposition. News The Malta Environment and Planning Authority is ĐŽŵŵŝƩĞĚƚŽĞŶƐƵƌĞƚŚĂƚůĂŶĚƵƐĞĂŶĚƚŚĞƉƌŽƚĞĐƟŽŶŽĨ ƚŚĞĞŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚŵĞĞƚƚŚĞŶĞĞĚƐŽĨƚŽĚĂLJ͛ƐƐŽĐŝĞƚLJĂŶĚ ĨƵƚƵƌĞĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƟĞƐ͘ The Authority is seeking to recruit: ƐƐŝƐƚĂŶƚKĸĐĞƌͬƐʹ/ŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ^LJƐƚĞŵƐ ĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ dWĞƌŵŝƚEŽ͘ϵϬͬϮϬϭϰ dŚĞ ƐĞůĞĐƚĞĚ ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞ ǁŝůů ďĞ ƌĞƐƉŽŶƐŝďůĞ ĨŽƌ ĚĞƐŝŐŶŝŶŐ͕ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŝŶŐ͕ƚĞƐƟŶŐ͕ŝŶƐƚĂůůŝŶŐ͕ŵŽŶŝƚŽƌŝŶŐĂŶĚ ĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƟŶŐŽĨŶĞǁĂŶĚĞdžŝƐƟŶŐŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶƐLJƐƚĞŵƐ ǁŝƚŚƚŚĞĂƉƉƌŽƉƌŝĂƚĞƚƌĂŝŶŝŶŐĂŶĚƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ͘ ƉƉůŝĐĂŶƚƐƐŚŽƵůĚŚĂǀĞ͗ YƵĂůŝĮĐĂƟŽŶƐ͗ĂĐŚĞůŽƌŽĨ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞĚĞŐƌĞĞŝŶŽŵƉƵƚĞƌ ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞŽƌ͕ĂĂĐŚĞůŽƌŽĨ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞĚĞŐƌĞĞǁŝƚŚƐƵĸĐŝĞŶƚ ĂŵŽƵŶƚŽĨĐŽŵƉƵƟŶŐĂŶĚƚĞĐŚŶŝĐĂůĐŽŶƚĞŶƚ;ƐƵĐŚĂƐĂ ũŽŝŶƚĚĞŐƌĞĞŽƌƵƐŝŶĞƐƐDĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚΘ/d͕ŽŵƉƵƟŶŐ ΘDĂƚŚĞŵĂƟĐƐͿ͘ džƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ͗ĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚƐŬŝůůƐŝŶDŝĐƌŽƐŽŌƉůĂƞŽƌŵƐ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ^W͕ŽƚEĞƚ͕^Y>^ĞƌǀĞƌĂŶĚƌĞůĂƚĞĚdĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐŝĞƐ͘ ^ŬŝůůƐ͗WƌŽǀĞŶƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ͕ĂŶĂůLJƟĐĂůĂŶĚĐŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟŽŶ skills dŚĞ ĂďŽǀĞ ƉŽƐƚ ŝƐ ĨŽƌ Ă ĚĞĮŶŝƚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ŽĨ ƚŚƌĞĞ LJĞĂƌƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐƐŝďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ƌĞŶĞǁĂů͘ ƉƉůŝĐĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌǁŝƚŚĂĚĞƚĂŝůĞĚsĂƌĞƚŽďĞĂĚĚƌĞƐƐĞĚƚŽ the Human Resources Manager and sent by email on ũŽďƐĂƉƉůŝĐĂƟŽŶƐΛŵĞƉĂ͘ŽƌŐ͘ŵƚ ďLJ ŶŽƚ ůĂƚĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ dŚƵƌƐĚĂLJϭϭ ƚŚ &ĞďƌƵĂƌLJϮϬϭϲ͘ dŽǀŝĞǁŵŽƌĞĚĞƚĂŝůƐŽŶƉŽƐŝƟŽŶ͕ interested candidates are invited to visit ƚŚĞƵƚŚŽƌŝƚLJ͛ƐǁĞďƐŝƚĞ ǁǁǁ͘ŵĞƉĂ͘ŽƌŐ͘ŵƚͬŽƌŐͲĐƵƌƌĞŶƚͲŽƉĞŶŝŶŐƐͲĂƚͲŵĞƉĂ ZZKWWKZdhE/dz looking for a prop or a successor? Konrad Mizzi (left) and outgoing deputy leader Toni Abela at a Labour Party business breakfast in January 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY BY Ray attaRd