Labour Party Partit Laburista | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Abbreviation | PL |
| Leader | Robert Abela |
| President | Alex Sciberras |
| Governing body | National Executive |
| Deputy leader for parliamentary affairs | Ian Borg |
| Deputy leader for party affairs | Alex Agius Saliba |
| Founder | William Savona |
| Founded | 15 March 1921; 104 years ago (15 March 1921) |
| Headquarters | Ċentru Nazzjonali Laburista, 77 Triq Mile End,il-Ħamrun |
| Newspaper | Kullħadd |
| Think tank | Fondazzjoni IDEAT |
| Student wing | PULSE(de-facto) |
| Youth wing | Labour Youths |
| Women's wing | Labour Women |
| Pioneer organization | Brigata Laburista(1959-2008)[1] |
| Media arm | One Productions |
| Elderly wing | Labour Veterans[2] |
| Membership | 17,500 (2020)[3] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre tocentre-left Historical: Left-wing |
| National affiliation | Malta Labour Movement(1978–1992)[6] |
| European affiliation | Party of European Socialists |
| European Parliament group | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats |
| International affiliation | Socialist International Historical: AAPSO[7] |
| Colours | Red |
| Slogan | Labor Omnia Vincit |
| Anthem | "L-Innu tal-Partit Laburista" ("Anthem of the Labour Party") |
| Parliament of Malta | 43 / 79 |
| European Parliament | 3 / 6 |
| Mayors of localities | 39 / 68 |
| Local council seats | 252 / 462 |
| Party flag | |
.svg) | |
| Website | |
| partitlaburista.org | |
TheLabour Party (Maltese:Partit Laburista, PL), formerly known as theMalta Labour Party (Maltese:Partit tal-Ħaddiema,MLP), is the oldestpolitical party in Malta, and one of the two major parties alongside theNationalist Party.[8][9] It sits on thecentre-left of the political spectrum.[10]
The party was founded in 1921 as the Chamber of Labour by a small group oftrade unionists. Ideologically, the party was orientated towardsdemocratic socialism and otherleft-wing stances until the early 1990s, when it followed the lead of like-minded Westernsocial-democratic parties like Britain'sNew Labour.[11][12] The party still claims to be democratic-socialist in their party programme.[13][14][15] Under the rule ofJoseph Muscat, the party shifted to a morecentrist position,[16][17] adoptingThird Way policies.[18][19][20] A formerlyEurosceptic party,[21] it claims to holdpro-European stances and is a member of theParty of European Socialists,[22][23] and theSocialist International.[24]
The party structures are the General Conference, the National Executive, the Leader, and the Deputy Leaders, the Party Congress, the Party Administration, the Parliamentary Group, the Councillors' Section, the District and the Regional Administrations, the Local Committees, and the Branches.[25]
The General Conference is largely made up of delegates from the Party's other constituent structures and is the Party's highest organ. The National Executive brings together the Party Administration as well as elected representatives of other constituent structures and co-ordinators. The Party Congress is made up of all members of the Party and elects the Leader and the two Deputy Leaders (one for Party, the other for Parliamentary affairs) and determines the Party's broad policy outlines. The Party Administration is made of the Party Leader, Deputy Leaders, and Party officials. The Parliamentary Group and the Councillors' Section bring together the Party's elected representatives inparliament andlocal councils. The Party is organised geographically in the local committees (smallest) and district and regional (largest) administrations. Finally, the branches of the party include the women's,youth, senior, and candidates' sections.
Although not formally part of the party's structures, the party owns a number of media and communication outlets, the largest being the television stationONE and radio serviceONE Radio through its holding companyONE Productions.[26] The party also owns the publishing house SKS (Sensiela Kotba Soċjalisti) and produces the weekly Sunday newspaperKullħadd. The party formerly ran the travel agency Sunrise Travel and theMVNO RedTouch Fone.[27][28]
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The Labour Party was founded as theChamber of Labour (Italian:Camera del Lavoro) in 1921 by one of the union branches affiliated with the Imperial Government Workers Union. Band clubs and other organisations were invited to send delegates to the Party's founding meeting on 15 March 1921, significantly, the 30th anniversary ofPope Leo XIII'sRerum novarum.[29]
Led by ColonelWilliam Savona, the Party contested the general elections held in 1921 and 1924 under the new Constitution that gave the country a measure of self-government. The Labour-Constitutional alliance won the 1927 general elections, but Labour lost ground, gaining 13.9% of votes, three seats in the Legislative Assembly and no representation in theSenate. Strickland became prime minister. Labour leader Savona was not elected, and the leadership of the Labour parliamentary group was temporarily entrusted to ColonelMichael Dundon. The Presidency of the Party and leadership of the parliamentary group was taken up byPaul Boffa later that year.[citation needed] In 1930, it adopted a party anthem.[30][31]
Labour gained nine seats out of ten in the elections held during November 1945, in which, contrarily to previous elections, all men over twenty-one years of age were entitled to vote. The Party's electoral programme, for the first time in Labour's history, did not make any reference to religion. Boffa's Government was supported by theGeneral Workers' Union, and it carried out a number of reforms, such as the abolition of the Senate, the abolition of plural votes, as well as the introduction ofwomen's right to vote. However, Labour deputies resigned from their posts in July 1946 due to mass redundancies at the Dockyards. In the meantime, the 'MacMichael Constitution' had been introduced, granting self-government to theMaltese. Labour's participation in the subsequent October 1947 elections was once again supported by theGeneral Workers' Union. The Party won 59.9% of the vote and twenty-four seats out of the possible forty within the Legislative Assembly.Paul Boffa became prime minister whilstDom Mintoff became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reconstruction. The Labour Government introduced Income Tax and Social Services for the first time inMalta.[citation needed]
The Labour Party was re-founded in 1949 as a successor to the Labour Party founded in 1921.Paul Boffa, Leader of the Labour Party and prime minister since 1947, resigned and left the party because of serious disagreements with his DeputyDom Mintoff which had led to a series of cabinet crises. Boffa formed theMalta Workers Party (MWP) while Mintoff re-organized the Labour Party as theMalta Labour Party.[citation needed] It has also adoptedThe Internationale as one of its anthems.[32][33]
The Malta Labour Party contested its first elections for the Malta Legislative Assembly the following year. The old Labour vote was split equally between the MLP and the MWP, giving them eleven members each. This allowed theNationalist Party (PN) to have a slight edge in the formation of a government, which it did in coalition with the MWP. The government did not last long. Two other elections were held in 1951 and 1953 (the last time a coalition governed in Malta) which both saw short-lived PN-MWP coalitions and the decline in the share of votes to the MWP with increasing support for the Labour Party.[citation needed]
The MWP eventually disintegrated and the MLP formed a government for the first time in 1955. Thislegislature was dominated by the issue ofintegration with theUnited Kingdom. The party, which started its life as an anti-colonial party with the slogan "Integration or self-determination" was now inclined towards the first part of the formula.[34] Areferendum was held in 1956 but given the number of abstentions and massive opposition by the Nationalist Party and theCatholic Church, the result was inconclusive. This, together with a number of dismissals at the naval dockyard led to Mintoff's resignation and his call for massive protests in April 1958.[citation needed]
The Governor re-established directcolonial government which lasted until 1962. In the meantime, the Malta Labour Party's connections withThird World Independentist andSocialist movements set it on a collision course with the Maltese Catholic Church, which the Party perceived as being pro-British and the cause of the failure of the Integration project. This led to the party leadership beinginterdicted from 1961 to 1964, when reading, advertising and distributing Party newspapers was deemed amortal sin. In the 1962 elections, this led to the defeat of the Party at the polls as well as a split with the creation of theChristian Workers' Party. Peace with the Church would not be made until 1969 by which time theChristian Workers' Party had disintegrated.[citation needed]
The MLP participated inindependence talks but disagreed with what was offered, causing them to not participate in the Independence celebrations when independence was actually achieved in 1964. The party made strong gains in the1966 elections which, however, were not enough to see it in office.[citation needed]
An unimportant split occurred in 1969 when theCommunist Party of Malta was founded. This split happened as a result of the truce between the Malta Labour Party and local Catholic authorities. The Communist Party has since only contested the 1987 elections.[citation needed]
Labour won the1971 general election and immediately set out to re-negotiate the post-Independencemilitary and financial agreements with the United Kingdom. The government also undertook socialist-stylenationalization programmes, import substitution schemes, and the expansion of thepublic sector and thewelfare state. Employment laws were revised with gender equality being introduced in salary pay. In the case of civil law, civil (non-religious) marriage was introduced and homosexuality and adultery were decriminalised. Through a package of constitutional reforms agreed to with the opposition party, Malta became arepublic in 1974.[citation needed]
The Labour Party was confirmed in office in the1976 elections. In 1981 the Party managed to hold on to a parliamentary majority, even though the opposition Nationalist Party managed an absolute majority of more than 4000 votes. A serious political crisis ensued when NationalistMPs refused to accept the electoral result and also refused to take their seats in parliament for the first years of the legislature. PremierDom Mintoff called this action "perverse" but it was not an uncommon one in any parliamentary democracy with disputed election results. He proposed to his parliamentary group that fresh elections be held,[citation needed] but most members of his Parliamentary group rejected his proposal.[citation needed] Mintoff, who had been considering vacating the party leadership position even before the elections,[citation needed] voluntarily resigned as prime minister and Party leader in 1984 (although he retained his parliamentary seat). A Party General Conference in that same year appointedKarmenu Mifsud Bonnici who acted uncontested as party leader.[citation needed]
The Mifsud Bonnici years were characterised by political tensions and violence. The deadlock was broken when constitutional amendments were made voted and made effective in January 1987 which guaranteed that the party with an absolute majority of votes would be given a majority of parliamentary seats in order to govern. This paved the way for the return of theNationalist Party to government later that year.[citation needed]
The Labour Party performed very badly in the followingelection in 1992, losing by nearly 13,000 votes.Mifsud Bonnici resigned due to deteriorating health and on 26 March, Labour electedAlfred Sant as the new leader.[citation needed]
Sant who won the election for party leader, and then modernized the party, secureda victory at the polls in 1996. Under Sant's leadership the party made several changes. The party opened the new Labour Party Headquarters in Hamrun instead of the old Macina in Cottonera. The party also made giant steps in the media by being the first Maltese political party to own its radio and television stations.[citation needed]
Sant managed to win comfortably the 1996 elections held on 26 October by over 8,000 votes on the Nationalist Party. The 1987 constitutional amendments, which secured the necessary additional seats, had to be used for the second time, having been used for the same time in 1987. This same amendment had to be used a third time in 2008.[citation needed]
However, trouble was brewing. Mintoff, for reasons known to him alone (within the MLP), started creating problems in Parliament for the one-seat Labour parliamentary majority. In the summer of 1998, Labour lost a division vote on the proposedCottonera waterfront project because of Mintoff's renegation on his parliamentary group. This was considered by Prime Minister Sant as a vote of no confidence in his government and informed the then-President of the Republic that he no longer held a parliamentary majority as a result. The President had on various occasions asked Prime MinisterAlfred Sant to try to find a solution for the political crisis created, but when all attempts proved futile, he had no other option but to accept Sant and his government's resignation and a call forearly elections, which were held on 5 September 1998. The Labour Party was defeated with a wide 13,000 vote margin.[citation needed]
Back in opposition, the party campaigned unsuccessfully againstEU membership, and the 'NO' camp lost thereferendum for the ascension of Malta in the European Union on 8 March (although Sant claimed victory) and was again defeated in the general election a month later on 14 April 2003, once more with a 12,000 vote margin. Sant resigned but stood again for party leader, where he was re-elected with more than 65% of the votes.[citation needed]
In June 2004 the party succeeded in obtaining a relative majority of votes in the elections held to elect the first five Maltese MEPs for theEuropean Parliament.[35] The party elected three of his candidates:Joseph Muscat (later replaced byGlenn Bedingfield),John Attard Montalto andLouis Grech.[citation needed]
In 2008 the Labour Party lost for the third consecutive time in the2008 general elections, obtaining 48.79% share of the vote[36] and losing the election to theNationalist Party by just 1,580 votes or 0.5%. Following the loss of the election, Sant resigned as Labour Party leader on 10 March 2008.[citation needed]
The first round of the election of the new leader were held on 5 June 2008. Five members contested this election as candidates:George Abela (a former Deputy Leader),Evarist Bartolo (a frontbench MP and ex-Minister),Marie Louise Coleiro Preca (a frontbench MP and former Secretary-General of the Party),Michael Falzon (an MP and Deputy Leader of the Party) andJoseph Muscat (an MEP). In the first round neither candidate obtained 50%+1 the majority of the votes. So a run up election had to be held on 6 June between the top two candidates who obtained the most votes,George Abela andJoseph Muscat. Muscat was elected Labour Party leader, gathering 66.36% of the total votes. He was co-opted in Parliament and appointedLeader of the Opposition on 1 October.[citation needed]
During an Extraordinary General Conference, held in November 2008, it was decided that the party's official name would bePartit Laburista instead of its former English name, the Malta Labour Party. The previous emblem was changed, although the symbol of the torch was retained.[citation needed]
In June 2009, the party garnered 55 percent of the first preference votes in theelection for the European Parliament, electing three MEPs who sit with theProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. This result led to Labour a fourth MEP when the Treaty of Lisbon came into effect and the number of seats allocated to Malta increased from five to six.[citation needed]
Muscat managed to win comfortably the 2013 elections held on 9 March by over 35,000 votes on the Nationalist Party. The Labour Party won a massive 55% of the votes.[citation needed]
In the 2014 MEP elections, the Labour Party retained a majority of 34,000 votes (53%), but lost its fourth seat to theNationalist Party candidate Therese Comodini Cachia.[citation needed]
In 2015, the party was delisted from theSocialist International for not paying membership fees.[37]
In 2017, Joseph Muscat was re-elected during thegeneral election, with Labour appearing to win with a clear landslide victory for the second consecutive time, merely an hour after the vote counting commenced.
Under Muscat's leadership Malta's national deficit was eliminated,[38] unemployment decreased to historic lows,[39] and an unprecedented period of economic growth occurred.[40] However, he was criticised by figures on both sides of the political spectrum, accused of political opportunism,[41] broken promises onmeritocracy[42] and the environment,[43] as well as corruption allegations.[44] On 1 December 2019, Muscat announced his resignation, to take effect after 12 January 2020,[45] due to the2019 Maltese protests caused by the murder of anti-corruption journalist and government criticDaphne Caruana Galizia. Muscat was accused of impeding the investigation.Robert Abela was elected to replace him, promising continuity with previous policies pursued by the party.
As the party held a parliamentary majority at the time of Muscat's resignation,Robert Abela would become prime minister immediately after, on 13 January 2020.[46] He was recognized as the "continuity" candidate instead ofChris Fearne, emphasizing stability, unity and normality, as opposed to the bolder changes advocated by Fearne.[47]
Abela is considered to be aligned to traditional Labour's values, such as social housing and free medicine for the elderly.[48]
In March 2020, Malta registered its first COVID-19 case. Abela was at first reluctant to close theMalta International Airport, retail outlets and theschools, but felt compelled to do so a few days later as public pressure mounted.[49]
In April 2020, Prime Minister Abela called for 'national unity' onTelevision Malta, the country's national broadcasting television. This has been criticized for being partisan.[50]
In November 2020, Abela stated "that the party will continue to reinvent itself with the introduction of more young people and women at the centre of its decision-making process."[51]
On 18 February 2021, Abela announced plans to introduce a law that would end police arrests for those possessing a small amount of cannabis and plants for personal use.[52] This bill was passed in December 2021, and Malta became the first country in the European Union to legalise cannabis.[53]
Abela's leadership was criticised with the number of co-options that had taken place, being deemed as undemocratic.[54]
In the2022 general election, the Labour Party retained its majority in parliament, winning a third consecutive election for the first time since1981 with 55.11% of the popular vote, the largest share by any party since1955, and marginally surpassing the 55.04% it scored in2017. Voter turnout was 85.6%.[55] Labour's win was attributed to how it maintained Maltese economic prosperity through theCOVID-19 pandemic, including keeping unemployment and energy costs low contrary to global trends, and how it tackled corruption and money laundering through rule-of-law reforms.[56]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | William Savona | 4,742 | 23.2 | 7 / 32 |  7 | 3rd | Opposition |
| 1924 | 4,632 | 19.2 | 7 / 32 |  | 3rd | Opposition | |
| 1927 | 5,011 | 14.5 | 3 / 32 |  4 | 3rd | Coalition | |
| 1932 | Paul Boffa | 4,138 | 8.6 | 1 / 32 | 2 | 3rd | Opposition |
| 1939 | 3,100 | 8.8 | 1 / 10 | | 3rd | Opposition | |
| 1945 | 19,071 | 76.2 | 9 / 10 | 8 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1947 | 63,145 | 59.9 | 24 / 40 | 15 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1950 | Dom Mintoff | 30,332 | 28.6 | 11 / 40 | 13 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1951 | 40,208 | 35.7 | 14 / 40 | 3 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1953 | 52,771 | 44.6 | 19 / 40 | 5 | 1st | Opposition | |
| 1955 | 68,447 | 56.7 | 23 / 40 | 4 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1962 | 50,974 | 33.8 | 16 / 50 | 7 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1966 | 61,774 | 43.1 | 22 / 50 | 6 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1971 | 85,448 | 50.8 | 28 / 55 | 6 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1976 | 105,854 | 51.5 | 34 / 65 | 6 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1981 | 109,990 | 49.1 | 34 / 65 | | 1st | Majority | |
| 1987 | Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici | 114,936 | 48.9 | 34 / 69 | | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1992 | 114,911 | 46.5 | 31 / 65 | 3 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1996 | Alfred Sant | 132,497 | 50.7 | 35 / 69 | 4 | 1st | Majority |
| 1998 | 124,220 | 47.0 | 30 / 65 | 5 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 2003 | 134,092 | 47.5 | 30 / 65 | | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 2008 | 141,888 | 48.8 | 34 / 69 | 4 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 2013 | Joseph Muscat | 167,533 | 54.8 | 39 / 69 | 5 | 1st | Majority |
| 2017 | 170,976 | 55.0 | 37 / 67 | 2 | 1st | Majority | |
| 2022 | Robert Abela | 162,707 | 55.1 | 44 / 79 | 7 | 1st | Majority |
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Rank | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Alfred Sant | 118,983 | 48.4 | 3 / 5 | New | 1st | PES |
| 2009 | Joseph Muscat | 135,917 | 54.8 | 4 / 6 | 1 | 1st | S&D |
| 2014 | 134,462 | 53.3 | 3 / 6 | 1 | 1st | ||
| 2019 | 141,267 | 54.3 | 4 / 6 | 1 | 1st | ||
| 2024 | Robert Abela | 117,805 | 45.3 | 3 / 6 | 1 | 1st |
The post ofLeader of the Labour Party was created in 1928. Before this (1921–28) the post was known asPresident of the Camera del Lavoro (Labour Party).
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Length of Leadership | Date of birth and death | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Savona | 30 August 1925 | 16 August 1927 | 1 year, 11 months, 17 days | 7 January 1865 – 18 January 1937 | |
| 2 | Michael Dundon† | 16 August 1927 | 29 November 1928 | 1 year, 3 months, 13 days | 10 November 1854 – 5 April 1936 | |
| 3 | Paul Boffa | 29 November 1928 | 12 October 1949 | 20 years, 10 months, 13 days | 30 June 1890 – 6 July 1962 | |
| 4 | Dom Mintoff | 16 October 1949 | 22 December 1984 | 35 years, 2 months, 6 days | 6 August 1916 – 20 August 2012 | |
| 5 | Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici | 22 December 1984 | 26 March 1992 | 7 years, 3 months, 4 days | 17 July 1933 – 5 November 2022 | |
| 6 | Alfred Sant | 26 March 1992 | 10 March 2008 | 15 years, 11 months, 15 days | 28 February 1948 – present | |
| 7 | Charles Mangion† | 10 March 2008 | 6 June 2008 | 2 months, 27 days | 14 November 1952 – present | |
| 8 | Joseph Muscat | 6 June 2008 | 12 January 2020 | 11 years, 7 months and 6 days | 22 January 1974 – present | |
| 9 | Robert Abela | 12 January 2020 | Present | 5 years, 10 months and 11 days | 7 December 1977 – present |
†Although technically leader of the Labour Party, they only assumed this role because of the resignation of the incumbent leader and were not elected to the post.
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