Labour Party, spearheaded by Sant, presented a new programme Pjan għal bidu ġdid (Plan for a new beginning) and called for Bżonn ta' Bidla (The need for a Change) after the 20 years (save for his brief stint from 1996 to 1998) of Nationalist government. The electoral programme contained references to overhauls in the educational system (which proved to be extremely controversial), reduction of an electricity surcharge by half, and tax breaks on overtime work. At the 2008 Maltese general election Sant was defeated for the third consecutive time, this time by Lawrence Gonzi, on a slim margin of only 1,580 votes. Following the loss of the election, Sant resigned as leader of the Labour Party on 10 March 2008, and as Leader of the Opposition on 5 June 2008; he was succeeded as party leader by Joseph Muscat and as leader of the opposition by Charles Mangion. He retained his Parliamentary seat. 2014 European Parliament election Sant announced that he would stand as a Labour Party candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election, despite his previous opposition to EU membership for Malta. He received 48,739 votes, which elected him outright, acquiring more votes than any other candidate. He was re-elected in 2019. Literary works and journalism Alfred Sant is also an established and prolific novelist, short story writer and playwright. His published works include plays, short stories, novels, and non-fiction. Plays Min Hu Evelyn Costa? (1979) Fid-Dell tal-Katidral (1994) Qabel Tiftaħ l-Inkjesta (1999) Short story collections Kwart ta' Mija (1995) Pupu fil-Baħar (2009) Novels L-Ewwel Weraq tal-Bajtar (1968) Bejgħ u Xiri (1981) Silġ fuq Kemmuna (1982) La Bidu, La Tmiem (2001) L-Għalqa tal-Iskarjota (2009) George Bush f'Malta (2013) Non-fiction works Collection of political essays, L-Impenn għall-Bidla (1986) Chronicle (political), It-28 ta' April 1958 (1988) Malta's European Challenge (1995) Confessions of a European Maltese (2003 autobiography) Is-Soċjaliżmu fi Żminijietna (2004) Other writings Sant edited Tomorrow, a monthly English-language magazine (1982–1985), and of Society, a quarterly opinion magazine, apart from authoring numerous articles. Sant also contributed regularly to the General Workers' Union's Sunday Maltese-language newspaper It-Torċa until March 2008. Honours National honours : Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (1996) by right as a Prime Minister of Malta See also Prime Minister of Malta List of prime ministers of Malta Frans Sammut (2008): Alfred Sant: Il-Vizjoni ghall-Bidla References External links |- 1948 births University of Malta alumni Boston