Muscat’s biographer praises Labour leader as ‘an agent of change’

Joseph Muscat's Malta, the one he wants to be a citizen of, is not just a campaign slogan now, but also a hardback edition.

It was a busy day for Labour's public relations commandoes: first a music video evoking the aspirational ambitions of the Labour leader, then a birthday celebration at Labour HQ for the 39-year-old Opposition leader, and finally his biography, authored by former Nationalist councillor for Sliema-turned-Labour-activist Cyrus Engere.

Engerer described 'Joseph: Il-Malta li rrid nghix fiha' as a testimonial to the openness of the Labour 'movement'.

"I have only been part of this team for two years but I was still given the opportunity to write this book... To write about how this movement became what it is today," Engerer said.

He said the title was inspired by a comment made by Muscat during a 2012 annual general conference in which he had concluded his speech by saying "this is the Malta I want to live in".

Engerer added that he shared Muscat's same thoughts when the latter talked about the positive and negative aspects of both PN and Labour. "We never had a leader who acknowledged the good things done by another party and less positive things done by his own party... Joseph is indeed an agent of change."

Engerer took the opportunity to encourage the public to join the Labour movement, which he said was open to everyone.

On his part, Muscat thanked Engerer for his input and said he was "proud" to have him on board. He also joked that he wasn't pleased that some of his younger self pictures have been made public.

The book, published by SKS and sold for €10, is divided into three parts: Muscat's biography, his values and beliefs and his speeches.