Briguglio decapitates himself after internal criticism

Michael Briguglio provided Alternattiva Demokratika with a defined ideological direction that won the party its best result ever in the last elections. But he will not put his name forward for re-election as chairperson, after critics lined up with their long knives just weeks after garnering 1.8% of the national vote, the best result for AD since 1992.

Supporters of the 38-year-old sociologist, who became AD chairperson in 2008, say he has been unfairly targeted by activists - who form part of AD's executive committee, and from where its candidates hail - who resented the Greens' "focused, ideological line".

Carmel Cacopardo, formerly a president of the Nationalist Party's administrative council, deputy secretary-general and information up until 1997, has led the criticism that the Green party must 'centre' itself away from Briguglio's direction.

Notwithstanding the fact that under Briguglio, AD won 5,506 votes and set the stage for what should have been a renewed impetus on electoral reform, his critics have complained that his liberal politics backfired.

Yesterday the AD executive committee convened a meeting for a post-mortem of sorts, but they were probably racking their brains over who could replace the personable and telegenic Briguglio, who was the face of the Green Party all throughout an exhaustive two-month campaign.

"Expectations that AD would win a seat were running high, but in reality the numbers were never there. And yet again, it was AD's best result because Michael gave the party a clearly defined ideological direction, with crucial issues on which there was no negotiation," one of his supporters, who will remain anonymous, said.

With his 'you know where you stand with us' approach to politics, Briguglio gave TV viewers (he appeared in the bulk of programmes, taking all the TV time he could take) non-negotiable standpoints: AD was against the illegal squatting of public land at Armier, against spring hunting, in favour of gay marriage, sustainability of water resources, and non-discrimination of IVF.

Coupled with that, Briguglio also displayed an ability to take AD out of its 'marginal' green issues, jousting with Joseph Muscat and Lawrence Gonzi on pension reform and taking them to task on their opposition to raising minimum wage. This was normal 'green party fare' by European standards. And going on the result, it worked just as well in a political climate where the writing on the wall was that Labour would win by a landslide.

"Michael was on message throughout the campaign, telling voters to give AD their number one, allowing them the liberty to cross-vote, and to understand that voting 1 for AD could keep it in the electoral race long enough to win second preference votes from other parties," the AD source said.

When this newspaper spoke to AD's candidates in the counting hall, the mood was sombre: Cacopardo himself remarked that Briguglio's open invitation on live television telling voters to cross-vote, and his admission that he voted Labour in 2008, when relations with then-leader Harry Vassallo were at their lowest ebb, had been their undoing. Arnold Cassola, who in 2004 narrowly missed out on becoming Malta's sixth MEP, publicly said on television that he was disappointed with the showing even though the result had given the party a lifeline to campaign for electoral reform.

Briguglio himself may have taken a rash decision, another party member said, in deciding not to re-contest: "He should have stayed on to fight the antagonists. But he is a single parent, he has his own family life to see to, an academic career, and the past five years as AD chairperson saw him immerse himself fully in the party's work. The electoral campaign itself was exhausting. You kind of think, 'what the hell am I doing this for if the critics will hang you even when you do good?'"