Jason Micallef has announced that he won’t contest for the position of PL Deputy Leader for Party Affairs after all.

Micallef said he met up with Prime Minister Robert Abela today, where they discussed the renewal process that needs to take place within the Labour Party ahead of the next general election.

He held another meeting with PL MEP Alex Agius Saliba.

“Following these meetings, I don’t feel I should proceed with my candidature,” Micallef said. “I am taking this step because, as I have always believed, the interests of the Labour Party and its people come first and foremost.”

Micallef’s U-turn comes a few days after Abela strongly hinted, during an interview with Lovin Malta, that he doesn’t want the former PL secretary-general to occupy the key role as the party needs to look to the future, and not the past.

Meanwhile, Agius Saliba said he will support an amendment to the PL’s statute that would allow MPs and MEPs to contest the deputy leader role, potentially putting him in line as a candidate himself.

“I held a meeting with the Prime Minister today, in which I had the chance to discuss his vision for the country and the PL in the coming years,” he said. “I wholly believe in his vision, for both the country and the party.”

“I understand that the Prime Minister also held a meeting with Jason Micallef, as I did. We agreed that the PL should remain open to everyone, remain the natural party of people, and above all, offer hope for a better future.”

He said delegates have urged him to be more involved in the PL’s structures and pledged to “give his utmost” to ensure the PL triumphs at the next election.