On Thursday evening, the Malta Labour Party, opened its annual general conference, the last such conference before the general election.It is expected that by the end of this conference on Sunday, the Malta Labour Party would have made a step forward towards finalising its electoral manifesto.

The party’s secretary general, Jason Micallef, opened Labour’s conference with a speech strongly emphasising Malta’s need for a change in government all the while accusing the present Nationalist administration of failure to deliver.

Deputy Leader, Dr Michael Falzon, opened his speech by stating that Labour’s values are still based on social justice and, like Mr Micallef, also spoke of the country’s need for a change. Social justice, Dr Falzon said, is at the heart of the three manifesto resolutions that the party is proposing.

He said that Labour will give the country the change which all Maltese and Gozitan families yearn for. Dr Falzon’s said that the Labour party is about success for everybody and that is why it would make a better government.

Preceeding the conference, earlier on in the week, the Labour party held think-tank sessions known as fringe meetings which served to consult with social partners such as environmentalists, educators, local councillors, medical professionals and intellectuals so as to allow the party to draw policies that are in line with the Maltese social reality. Throughout these meetings themes such as education, employment, environment, healthcare, housing and welfare were discussed.

On Tuesday and Wednesday a high-profile meeting of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament took place in Malta to boost Labour’s European profile with all socialist leaders pledging their support to the Labour Party.

On Friday, UK’s Health Secretary Alan Johnson will be addressing the conference as the Malta Labour Party seeks to reaffirm its ties with the UK Labour Party.