Malta Labour Party
Encyclopedia
The Labour Party is, along with the Nationalist Party
, one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta
. It is the party of opposition in the Maltese House of Representatives where it has thirty-four of the sixty-nine seats.
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 in parliament and local 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 either directly or through One Productions
, a holding company. The Party owns the Sunday paper Kullħadd
and the on-line newspaper Maltastar and, through the holding company, One Television and One Radio
which broadcast free-to-air
nationally.
's Rerum Novarum
.
Led by Colonel William 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 the Senate. Strickland became Prime Minister. Labour leader Savona was not elected, and the leadership of the Labour parliamentary group was temporarily entrusted to Colonel Michael Dundon
. The Presidency of the Party and leadership of the parliamentary group was taken up by Paul Boffa
later that year.
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 the General 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 of women'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 the Maltese
. Labour's participation in the subsequent October, 1947 elections was once again supported by the General 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 whilst Dom Mintoff
became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reconstruction. The Labour Government introduced Income Tax and Social Services for the first time in Malta
.
, Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister since 1947, resigned and left the party because of serious disagreements with his Deputy Dom Mintoff
which had led to a series of cabinet crises. Boffa formed the Malta Workers Party
(MWP) while Mintoff re-organized the Labour Party as the Malta Labour Party.
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 the Nationalist 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.
The MWP eventually disintegrated and the MLP formed a government for the first time in 1955. This legislature
was dominated by the issue of integration with the United 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. A referendum
was held in 1956 but given the number of abstentions and massive opposition by the Nationalist Party and the Catholic 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.
Independentist and Socialist movements, set it on a collision course with the Maltese Catholic Church, which the Party perceived as pro-British and the cause of failure of the Integration project. This led to the party leadership being interdicted
from 1961 to 1964, when reading, advertising and distributing Party newspapers was deemed a mortal 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 the Christian Workers' Party
. Peace with the Church would not be made until 1969 by which time the Christian Workers' Party
had disintegrated.
The MLP participated in independence
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 the 1966 elections which, however, were not enough to see it in office.
An unimportant split occurred in 1969 when the Communist 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.
and financial agreements with the United Kingdom. The government also undertook nationalization
programmes and the expansion of the public sector
and the welfare state
. Employment laws were updated with gender equality being introduced in salary pay. In the case of civil law, civil marriage was introduced and homosexuality and adultery were decriminalised. Through a package of constitutional reforms agreed to with the Opposition, Malta became a republic
in 1974.
The Party was confirmed in office in the 1976 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 Nationalist MPs refused to accept the electoral result and also refused to take their seats in parliament for the first years of the legislature. Premier Mintoff called this result a "perverse" one but not an uncommon one in any parliamentary democracy. He proposed to his parliamentary group that fresh elections be held, but most members of his Parliamentary group rejected this proposal. Mintoff, who had been considering vacating the party leadership position even before the elections, voluntarily, resigned as Prime Minister and Party leader in 1984 (although he retained his parliamentary seat). A Party General Conference in that same year appointed an uncontested Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
as party leader.
to government later that year.
The Labour party performed very badly in the following election in 1992, losing by nearly 13,000 votes. Mifsud Bonnici
resigned due to deteriorating health and on the 26 March Labour elected Alfred Sant
as the new leader.
. 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.
Sant managed to win comfortably the 1996 elections held on the 26th of October by over 7,500 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
However, trouble was brewing. Mr Mintoff, for reasons known to him alone (within the MLP), started creating problems in Parliament for the one seat Labour parliamentary majority. In summer of 1998 Labour lost a division vote on the proposed Cottonera waterfront project because of Mintoff's renegation on his parliamentary group. This was considered by the 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 the parliamentary majority. The President had on various occasions asked Prime Minister Alfred Sant
to try and find a solution for the political crisis created, but when all attempts proved futile, had no other option but to accept Sant and his government's resignation and a call for early elections. On the 3rd August 1998, Parliament was dissolved and early elections were announced by Alfred Sant
to be held on the 5th September. the Malta Labour Party was defeated with a wide 13,000 vote margin.
Back in opposition, the party campaigned unsuccessfully against EU
membership, and the 'NO' camp lost the referendum for the ascension of Malta in the European Union on the 8th March (although Sant claimed victory) and was again defeated in the general election a month on, on the 12th April 2003 once more with a 12,000 vote margin. Sant resigned but stood again for election of Leadership of the Party where he was voted again as leader with more than 65% of the votes.
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 the European Parliament
. The party elected 3 of his candidates: Joseph Muscat
(later replaced by Glenn Bedingfield
), John Attard Montalto
and Louis Grech
.
In 2008 the Labour Party lost for the third consecutive time in the 2008 general elections
, obtaining 48.79% share of the vote and losing the election to the Nationalist 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.
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) and Joseph 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 the 6th June between the top two candidates who obtained the most number of votes, George Abela
and Joseph Muscat
. Muscat was elected Labour Party leader, gathering 66.36% of the total votes. He was co-opted in Parliament and appointed Leader of the Opposition on the 1st October.
During an Extraordinary General Conference, held in November 2008, it was decided that the party's official name will be Partit Laburista instead of its former name Malta Labour Party.
In June 2009 the party garnered 55 percent of the first preference votes in the election for the European Parliament, electing 3 MEPs who sit with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
.
(Source: maltadata.com http://www.maltadata.com)
†The first election under universal suffrage
in which all women aged over 21 could vote.
‡The 1981 election produced a perverse result, as the Opposition Nationalist Party had more votes than the ruling Malta Labour Party.
(Source: maltadata.com http://www.maltadata.com)
†The Labour party took Malta's additional 6th seat when the Treaty of Lisbon
came into effect.
Nationalist Party (Malta)
The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...
, one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. It is the party of opposition in the Maltese House of Representatives where it has thirty-four of the sixty-nine seats.
Party Structure
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.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 in parliament and local councils
Local councils of Malta
Since 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 local councils or localities . These form the most basic form of local government and there are no intermediate levels between it and the national level...
. 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
Labour Youth Forum (Malta)
Labour Youth Forum is the youth organisation of the Maltese social democratic party Partit Laburista.It encourages the participation of youths in politics, and ensures the voice of the younger generations in the Labour Party's policies. Former recent activists of FZL include the Leader of the...
, senior and candidates' sections.
Although not formally part of the Party's structures the Party owns a number of media and communication outlets either directly or through One Productions
One Productions Ltd
ONE Productions Limited was founded in the late 1980s to operate Super One Radio, now known as ONE Radio and eventually Super One Television, now known as ONE. In September 1990 the company’s name was changed to ONE Productions Limited. ONE Radio is the only radio station in Malta that transmits...
, a holding company. The Party owns the Sunday paper Kullħadd
Kullħadd
Kullħadd is a political newspaper published daily in Malta. It is published by the Labour Party and has been published since 1992....
and the on-line newspaper Maltastar and, through the holding company, One Television and One Radio
One Radio
One Radio is a radio station in Malta owned by the Labour Party. Broadcasts commenced in August 1991...
which broadcast free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
nationally.
Foundation, first years and first government (1921–1949)
The Labour Party was founded as the Chamber 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 of Pope Leo XIIIPope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
's Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. It was an open letter, passed to all Catholic bishops, that addressed the condition of the working classes. The encyclical is entitled: “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour”...
.
Led by Colonel William Savona
William Savona
William Savona was a Maltese politician. He was the first leader and the founder of the Maltese Labour Party from 1925 to 1927, served as Minister for post, customs, agriculture and fisheries 1922-23...
, 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 the Senate. Strickland became Prime Minister. Labour leader Savona was not elected, and the leadership of the Labour parliamentary group was temporarily entrusted to Colonel Michael Dundon
Michael Dundon
Dr Michael Dundon Lt. Col Royal Army Medical Corp was a Maltese politician of Irish birth. He was the 7th child of William and Ellen Dundon, Barnakyle, Patrickswell, County Limerick, Ireland. He was educated at Queen's College, Cork, and at the Cecilia Street Hospital. Dublin, and graduated as...
. The Presidency of the Party and leadership of the parliamentary group was taken up by Paul Boffa
Paul Boffa
Sir Paul Boffa, OBE was a Maltese prime minister who took office after self-rule was reinstated by the British colonial authority following the end of World War II.-Life:...
later that year.
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 the General Workers' Union
General Workers' Union (Malta)
The General Workers' Union is a national trade union center in Malta.The GWU was founded in 1943 and has been politically identified with the Labour Party as the trade union is the major left-wing trade union in Malta...
, 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 of women'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
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Labour's participation in the subsequent October, 1947 elections was once again supported by the General Workers' Union
General Workers' Union (Malta)
The General Workers' Union is a national trade union center in Malta.The GWU was founded in 1943 and has been politically identified with the Labour Party as the trade union is the major left-wing trade union in Malta...
. The Party won 59.9% of the vote and twenty-four seats out of the possible forty within the Legislative Assembly. Paul Boffa
Paul Boffa
Sir Paul Boffa, OBE was a Maltese prime minister who took office after self-rule was reinstated by the British colonial authority following the end of World War II.-Life:...
became Prime Minister whilst Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff is a Maltese politician, journalist and architect, who served as leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958 and again, post-Independence, from 1971 to...
became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reconstruction. The Labour Government introduced Income Tax and Social Services for the first time in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Re-founding and return to government (1949–1958)
The Labour Party was re-founded in 1949 as a successor to the Labour Party founded in 1921. Paul BoffaPaul Boffa
Sir Paul Boffa, OBE was a Maltese prime minister who took office after self-rule was reinstated by the British colonial authority following the end of World War II.-Life:...
, Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister since 1947, resigned and left the party because of serious disagreements with his Deputy Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff is a Maltese politician, journalist and architect, who served as leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958 and again, post-Independence, from 1971 to...
which had led to a series of cabinet crises. Boffa formed the Malta Workers Party
Malta Workers Party
The Malta Workers Party was a political party in Malta in the 1950s.The Labour Party under the leadership of Paul Boffa had won 24 out of 40 seats in the Maltese general election, 1947. The party split in 1949 following disputes between Boffa and his deputy Dom Mintoff...
(MWP) while Mintoff re-organized the Labour Party as the Malta Labour Party.
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 the Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party (Malta)
The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...
(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.
The MWP eventually disintegrated and the MLP formed a government for the first time in 1955. This legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
was dominated by the issue of integration with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. 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. A referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was held in 1956 but given the number of abstentions and massive opposition by the Nationalist Party and the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, 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.
Opposition (1958-71)
The Governor re-established direct colonial government which lasted until 1962. In the meantime, the Malta Labour Party's connections with Third WorldThird World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
Independentist and Socialist movements, set it on a collision course with the Maltese Catholic Church, which the Party perceived as pro-British and the cause of failure of the Integration project. This led to the party leadership being interdicted
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
from 1961 to 1964, when reading, advertising and distributing Party newspapers was deemed a mortal sin
Mortal sin
Mortal sins are in the theology of some, but not all Christian denominations wrongful acts that condemn a person to Hell after death. These sins are considered "mortal" because they constitute a rupture in a person's link to God's saving grace: the person's soul becomes "dead", not merely weakened...
. In the 1962 elections this led to the defeat of the Party at the polls as well as a split with the creation of the Christian Workers' Party
Christian Workers' Party
The Christian Workers' Party was a political party in Malta. was founded in 1961 and its target was to contest the 1962 elections. It was founded by Toni Pellegrini who was the general secretary of the Malta Labour Party. Pellegrini fell out with Dom Mintoff during the 1961 politico-religious...
. Peace with the Church would not be made until 1969 by which time the Christian Workers' Party
Christian Workers' Party
The Christian Workers' Party was a political party in Malta. was founded in 1961 and its target was to contest the 1962 elections. It was founded by Toni Pellegrini who was the general secretary of the Malta Labour Party. Pellegrini fell out with Dom Mintoff during the 1961 politico-religious...
had disintegrated.
The MLP participated in independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
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 the 1966 elections which, however, were not enough to see it in office.
An unimportant split occurred in 1969 when the Communist Party of Malta
Communist Party of Malta
Communist Party of Malta , is a Communist political party in Malta. PKM was founded in 1969 at a secret congress in the town of Gwardamangia, following the departure from the Malta Labour Party of a group of left-wing militants that had been active in the struggle for national independence. Anthony...
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.
The post-Independence Mintoff governments (1971-84)
Labour won the 1971 general election and immediately set out to re-negotiate the post-Independence militaryMilitary
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
and financial agreements with the United Kingdom. The government also undertook nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
programmes and the expansion of the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
and the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. Employment laws were updated with gender equality being introduced in salary pay. In the case of civil law, civil marriage was introduced and homosexuality and adultery were decriminalised. Through a package of constitutional reforms agreed to with the Opposition, Malta became a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
in 1974.
The Party was confirmed in office in the 1976 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 Nationalist MPs refused to accept the electoral result and also refused to take their seats in parliament for the first years of the legislature. Premier Mintoff called this result a "perverse" one but not an uncommon one in any parliamentary democracy. He proposed to his parliamentary group that fresh elections be held, but most members of his Parliamentary group rejected this proposal. Mintoff, who had been considering vacating the party leadership position even before the elections, voluntarily, resigned as Prime Minister and Party leader in 1984 (although he retained his parliamentary seat). A Party General Conference in that same year appointed an uncontested Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
Carmelo Bonnici was the Prime Minister of Malta from 1984 to 1987. He is a member of the Labour Party. He studied law at the University of Malta and is known to be an expert in industrial relations law.-Early politics:Mifsud Bonnici was from a family that staunchly supported the Partit...
as party leader.
The post-Mintoff era (1984–92)
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 the Nationalist PartyNationalist Party (Malta)
The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...
to government later that year.
The Labour party performed very badly in the following election in 1992, losing by nearly 13,000 votes. Mifsud Bonnici
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
Carmelo Bonnici was the Prime Minister of Malta from 1984 to 1987. He is a member of the Labour Party. He studied law at the University of Malta and is known to be an expert in industrial relations law.-Early politics:Mifsud Bonnici was from a family that staunchly supported the Partit...
resigned due to deteriorating health and on the 26 March Labour elected Alfred Sant
Alfred Sant
Alfred Sant is a Maltese politician. He led the Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008....
as the new leader.
Modernisation (post-1992)
Sant who won the election for party leader, and then modernized the party, secured a victory at the polls in 1996Maltese general election, 1996
The election using single transferable vote gave a majority of the 65 district seats to the PN, despite a majority of votes going to the MLP, so the MLP were given four bonus seats to ensure a majority reflecting the popular vote.-Results:...
. 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.
Sant managed to win comfortably the 1996 elections held on the 26th of October by over 7,500 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
However, trouble was brewing. Mr Mintoff, for reasons known to him alone (within the MLP), started creating problems in Parliament for the one seat Labour parliamentary majority. In summer of 1998 Labour lost a division vote on the proposed Cottonera waterfront project because of Mintoff's renegation on his parliamentary group. This was considered by the 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 the parliamentary majority. The President had on various occasions asked Prime Minister Alfred Sant
Alfred Sant
Alfred Sant is a Maltese politician. He led the Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008....
to try and find a solution for the political crisis created, but when all attempts proved futile, had no other option but to accept Sant and his government's resignation and a call for early elections. On the 3rd August 1998, Parliament was dissolved and early elections were announced by Alfred Sant
Alfred Sant
Alfred Sant is a Maltese politician. He led the Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008....
to be held on the 5th September. the Malta Labour Party was defeated with a wide 13,000 vote margin.
Back in opposition, the party campaigned unsuccessfully against EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
membership, and the 'NO' camp lost the referendum for the ascension of Malta in the European Union on the 8th March (although Sant claimed victory) and was again defeated in the general election a month on, on the 12th April 2003 once more with a 12,000 vote margin. Sant resigned but stood again for election of Leadership of the Party where he was voted again as leader with more than 65% of the votes.
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 the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. The party elected 3 of his candidates: Joseph Muscat
Joseph Muscat
Joseph Muscat is a Maltese politician who has been leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Malta since 2008.- Education :...
(later replaced by Glenn Bedingfield
Glenn Bedingfield
Glenn Bedingfield is a Maltese journalist and formerly a Member of the European Parliament and General Secretary of the Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti and member of the Party's National Executive.- Career :Bedingfield was one of the first journalists to join the newly set up Labour Party owned Super One...
), John Attard Montalto
John Attard Montalto
John Attard Montalto is a Maltese politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2004. He is a member of the Labour Party, which is part of the Party of European Socialists...
and Louis Grech
Louis Grech
Louis Grech is a Maltese politician and Member of the European Parliament. He is a member of the Malta Labour Party, which is part of the Party of European Socialists, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Budgets....
.
In 2008 the Labour Party lost for the third consecutive time in the 2008 general elections
Maltese general election, 2008
The latest Maltese general election for the renewal of the House of Representatives of Malta was held on March 8, 2008. The incumbent ruling party the Christian democratic Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, narrowly won over the social democratic Malta Labour Party led by...
, obtaining 48.79% share of the vote and losing the election to the Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party (Malta)
The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...
by just 1,580 votes or 0.5%. Following the loss of the election, Sant resigned as Labour Party leader on 10 March 2008.
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
George Abela
George Abela is a Maltese politician who has been President of Malta since April 2009.-Early life:Abela was born in Qormi, Malta, to George and Ludgarda née Debono. He attended the local primary school in Qormi, and the Lyceum in Hamrun. In 1965 he enrolled in the University of Malta, where he...
(a former Deputy Leader), Evarist Bartolo
Evarist Bartolo
Evarist Bartolo is a Maltese politician within the Malta Labour Party. Bartolo was born on 14 October 1952 in Mellieha. He has been a member of the Maltese Parliament since 1992...
(a frontbench MP and ex-Minister), Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, born in 1958 at Qormi, Malta, is a Maltese politician and an MP with the Malta Labour Party.-Education:She studied at the University of Malta where she graduated BA in Legal and Humanistic Studies and Diploma Notary Public...
(a frontbench MP and former Secretary-General of the Party), Michael Falzon
Michael Falzon
Michael Falzon is a Member of the Maltese Parliament of the Malta Labour Party . He stood as a candidate for the second and tenth electoral divisions of Malta for the PL...
(an MP and Deputy Leader of the Party) and Joseph Muscat
Joseph Muscat
Joseph Muscat is a Maltese politician who has been leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Malta since 2008.- Education :...
(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 the 6th June between the top two candidates who obtained the most number of votes, George Abela
George Abela
George Abela is a Maltese politician who has been President of Malta since April 2009.-Early life:Abela was born in Qormi, Malta, to George and Ludgarda née Debono. He attended the local primary school in Qormi, and the Lyceum in Hamrun. In 1965 he enrolled in the University of Malta, where he...
and Joseph Muscat
Joseph Muscat
Joseph Muscat is a Maltese politician who has been leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Malta since 2008.- Education :...
. Muscat was elected Labour Party leader, gathering 66.36% of the total votes. He was co-opted in Parliament and appointed Leader of the Opposition on the 1st October.
During an Extraordinary General Conference, held in November 2008, it was decided that the party's official name will be Partit Laburista instead of its former name Malta Labour Party.
In June 2009 the party garnered 55 percent of the first preference votes in the election for the European Parliament, electing 3 MEPs who sit with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats is the social-democratic political group in the European Parliament, formed by MEPs of the Party of European Socialists and allied centre-left parties. The group dates its ancestry via various names back to the beginning of the European...
.
General Elections
| Year | Votes | % | Seats | Outcome |
| 1921 | 4,037 | 19.72% | 7 | Popular Union Victory |
| 1924 | 4,632 | 19.24% | 7 | Popular Union/Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Coalition Victory |
| 1927 | 5,011 | 14.55% | 3 | Constitutional Party Constitutional Party (Malta) The Constitutional Party was a Maltese political party which had representatives in the Maltese Legislative Assembly and Council of Government between 1921 and 1945 and 1950 and 1953, forming a government between 1927 and 1930 with the support of the Labour Party. A splinter group, the Progressive... /Labour Party Coalition Victory |
| 1932 | 4,138 | 8.57% | 1 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1939 | 3,100 | 8.82% | 1 | Constitutional Party Constitutional Party (Malta) The Constitutional Party was a Maltese political party which had representatives in the Maltese Legislative Assembly and Council of Government between 1921 and 1945 and 1950 and 1953, forming a government between 1927 and 1930 with the support of the Labour Party. A splinter group, the Progressive... Victory |
| 1947 Maltese general election, 1947 |-!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats|-... † |
63,145 | 59.86% | 24 | Labour Party Victory |
| 1950 Maltese general election, 1950 |-!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats|-... |
30,332 | 28.58% | 11 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1951 Maltese general election, 1951 |-!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats|-... |
40,208 | 35.70% | 14 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1953 Maltese general election, 1953 |-!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats|-... |
52,771 | 44.55% | 19 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1955 Maltese general election, 1955 |-!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats|-... |
68,447 | 56.73% | 23 | Malta Labour Party Victory |
| 1962 Maltese general election, 1962 |-!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats|-... |
50,974 | 33.85% | 16 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1966 | 61,774 | 43.09% | 22 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1971 | 85,448 | 50.84% | 28 | Malta Labour Party Victory |
| 1976 | 105,854 | 51.53% | 34 | Malta Labour Party Victory |
| 1981 Maltese general election, 1981 The 1981 general election was held to elect the House of Representatives of Malta. The election resulted in controversy because although the Nationalist Party gained 51.8% of the votes, the voting system in use led to Malta Labour Party winning the majority of seats and governing the Maltese... ‡ |
109,990 | 49.07% | 34 | Malta Labour Party Victory |
| 1987 Maltese general election, 1987 The election using single transferable vote gave a majority of the 65 district seats to the MLP, despite a majority of votes going to the PN, so the PN were given four bonus seats to ensure a majority reflecting the popular vote.-Results:... |
114,936 | 48.87% | 34 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1992 | 114,911 | 46.50% | 31 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 1996 Maltese general election, 1996 The election using single transferable vote gave a majority of the 65 district seats to the PN, despite a majority of votes going to the MLP, so the MLP were given four bonus seats to ensure a majority reflecting the popular vote.-Results:... |
132,497 | 50.72% | 31+4 | Malta Labour Party Victory |
| 1998 | 124,220 | 46.97% | 30 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 2003 Maltese general election, 2003 General elections were held in Malta on 12 April 2003. They were won by the Nationalist Party on a pro-EU platform.... |
134,092 | 47.51% | 30 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
| 2008 Maltese general election, 2008 The latest Maltese general election for the renewal of the House of Representatives of Malta was held on March 8, 2008. The incumbent ruling party the Christian democratic Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, narrowly won over the social democratic Malta Labour Party led by... |
141,888 | 48.79% | 34 | Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the... Victory |
(Source: maltadata.com http://www.maltadata.com)
†The first election under universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
in which all women aged over 21 could vote.
‡The 1981 election produced a perverse result, as the Opposition Nationalist Party had more votes than the ruling Malta Labour Party.
Elections to the European Parliament
| Year | Votes | % | Seats | Outcome |
| 2004 | 118,983 | 48.4% | 3 | Malta Labour Party Victory |
| 2009† | 135,917 | 54.77% | 3+1 | Labour Party Victory |
(Source: maltadata.com http://www.maltadata.com)
†The Labour party took Malta's additional 6th seat when the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
came into effect.
Deputy leaders of the Labour Party in the Maltese House of Representatives since 1920
- P. Bugelli 1920–1925
- Michael DundonMichael DundonDr Michael Dundon Lt. Col Royal Army Medical Corp was a Maltese politician of Irish birth. He was the 7th child of William and Ellen Dundon, Barnakyle, Patrickswell, County Limerick, Ireland. He was educated at Queen's College, Cork, and at the Cecilia Street Hospital. Dublin, and graduated as...
1925–1929 - 1929–1947
- Dom MintoffDom MintoffDom Mintoff is a Maltese politician, journalist and architect, who served as leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958 and again, post-Independence, from 1971 to...
1947–1949 - Joseph FloresJoseph Flores (Maltese politician)Joseph Flores was a judge and politician from Malta.Flores was born in 1907 in the Maltese town of Hamrun, close to the capital Valletta. Following school he enrolled at the University of Malta and began a course in the study of law...
1949–1955 - Guze Ellul MercerGuze Ellul MercerGuze Ellul Mercer was a Maltese politician. He joined the Labour Party and he started his parliamentary career in 1924. He was subsequently elected member of parliament at the general elections held in 1951 and 1955. In 1955, he was elected Labour Party deputy leader for parliamentary affairs...
1955–1961 - Anton ButtigiegAnton ButtigiegAnton Buttigieg was a Maltese political figure and poet. He served as the second President of Malta from 1976 until 1981.-Early life:Anton Buttigieg was born in Qala, Gozo, on February 19, 1912, the third child of Salvatore and Concetta...
1961–1976 - Agatha BarbaraAgatha BarbaraAgatha Barbara was a Maltese politician, having served as a Labour Member of Parliament and Minister, and President of Malta. She was the first and, to date, the only female President of Malta.-Early life:...
1976–1981 - Wistin Abela 1981–1982
- Karmenu Mifsud BonniciKarmenu Mifsud BonniciCarmelo Bonnici was the Prime Minister of Malta from 1984 to 1987. He is a member of the Labour Party. He studied law at the University of Malta and is known to be an expert in industrial relations law.-Early politics:Mifsud Bonnici was from a family that staunchly supported the Partit...
1982–1984 - Guze Cassar 1984–1987
- Joseph Brincat 1987–1992
- George William VellaGeorge William VellaVella, George , is a Maltese politician. He is currently Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives of Malta.- Political life :...
1992–2003 - Charles MangionCharles MangionCharles Mangion is a Maltese politician. A Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives of Malta since 1987, he served in the government as Minister of Justice and Local Government from 1996 to 1998. He was briefly Leader of the Opposition in 2008.- Personal life and family :Mangion was...
2003–2008 - Angelo FarrugiaAngelo FarrugiaAngelo "Anġlu" Farrugia is a Maltese politician, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for work, workers' rights and parliamentary affairs.- Family :...
2008–present
Deputy leaders of the Labour Party Affairs since 1976
- Joseph Brincat 1976–1980
- Karmenu Mifsud BonniciKarmenu Mifsud BonniciCarmelo Bonnici was the Prime Minister of Malta from 1984 to 1987. He is a member of the Labour Party. He studied law at the University of Malta and is known to be an expert in industrial relations law.-Early politics:Mifsud Bonnici was from a family that staunchly supported the Partit...
1980–1983 - Guze Cassar 1983-1987
- Joe Debono GrechJoe Debono GrechJoe Debono Grech is a Maltese politician. He is currently a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives of Malta.- Political life :...
1987–1992 - George AbelaGeorge AbelaGeorge Abela is a Maltese politician who has been President of Malta since April 2009.-Early life:Abela was born in Qormi, Malta, to George and Ludgarda née Debono. He attended the local primary school in Qormi, and the Lyceum in Hamrun. In 1965 he enrolled in the University of Malta, where he...
1992–1998 - Joseph Brincat 1998–2003
- Michael FalzonMichael FalzonMichael Falzon is a Member of the Maltese Parliament of the Malta Labour Party . He stood as a candidate for the second and tenth electoral divisions of Malta for the PL...
2003–2008 - Toni AbelaToni AbelaToni Abela is a Maltese politician.-Political career:* Responsibilities within the Labour Party:** Deputy Leader Party Affairs ** President Dr.Abela served as the President of the Labour Party between 1988 and 1989....
2008–present
See also
- Sette GiugnoSette GiugnoSette Giugno is a Maltese national holiday celebrated annually on 7 June. It commemorates events which occurred on that day in 1919 when, following a series of riots by the Maltese population, British troops fired into the crowd, killing four.-Historical setting:In the aftermath of World War I,...
- Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
- House of Representatives of MaltaHouse of Representatives of MaltaThe House of Representatives is the unicameral legislature of Malta and a component of the Parliament of Malta.The House is composed of an odd number of members elected for a five year term...
- European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
- Prime Minister of MaltaPrime Minister of MaltaThe Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government of Malta.-Establishment of the office and developments:The office of "Head of Ministry" was created as soon as Malta was granted autonomous government in 1921. The 1921 constitution was suspended twice before being revoked...