Watch: Labour Needs A Grassroots Upheaval, Veteran PL Activist Sammy Meilaq Urges
Veteran PL activist Sammy Meilaq has said the governing party is in need of an “upheaval” from the grassroots, although conceded that this is unlikely to happen during a period of economic growth.
Interviewed on Jon Mallia’s Il-Podcast ta’ Jon, Meilaq – a former Drydocks Council chairman renowned for his militantism – said the PL grassroots need to shake the leadership up on certain issues, such as good governance and corruption.
“I know people who want better leadership within the PL. Looking from the outside, I calculate that in this tug of war between those who want improvement and those who don’t, those who want it need to mobilise the grassroots if they want to overcome the other side.”
“I am convinced that the grassroots are very fertile, even within the PL, and I don’t know a single Labourite who is happy with all this mess on governance and corruption.”
However, Meilaq acknowledged that there isn’t a critical mass of people crying out for such an upheaval and linked this to the economic growth the PL government sustained during its ten years in power.
“History shows us that upheavals tend to take place when the economy isn’t booming. Am I saying that I don’t want the economy to be booming? No, but this is the reality. If I was 20 years old, I would try to start this upheaval within PL myself but I am 74.”
Jon’s interview with Sammy Meilaq is currently only available to Patreon subscribers of Il-Podcast ta’ Jon, and you can sign up here.
READ NEXT: It’s Been 154 Days Since This Mysterious Woman Became The Face Of The Malta Film Commission
