If there is to be a major debate about the upcoming European Parliament elections in Malta, it should focus on the two most significant candidates in terms of the changing political landscape. There is a very strong case to be made for voting for ADPD Leader Sandra Gauci and the incumbent European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
We as Maltese we have a great honour to have the possibility of voting for Roberta Metsola, who has been a trailblazing leader of European diplomacy. However, great privileges also come with great responsibilities, and we as Europeans also have a great responsibility in ensuring that Roberta Metsola achieves a powerful result at the polls in the face of Russian aggression and belligerent threats against Europe. Russia is openly supporting political parties in Europe that favour its war on Ukraine, so there are no guesses in which way the Kremlin would prefer our election results to go. It is in our national interest to ensure that Russia does not gain anything from this election; otherwise, it may indicate that our country is susceptible to illicit foreign influences that undermine our national interest.
On the other hand, we would deluding ourselves if European Parliament don’t also come with their local and national baggage. This is more of a feature than an aberration, however, as technically, Members of the European Parliament are also representatives of their co-nationals in Europe’s most representative and democratic institution. Locally, and in terms exclusive to local politics, Roberta Metsola represents an alternative political future for Malta that is much better, more progressive, and more European than the current establishment. Yet, this is just a future vision that does not correspond with the world of her home party, which has failed to inspire support and in many cases, failed to mount an effective opposition to the Labour government.
The only practical alternative to the Nationalist Party for those seeking an alternative to governance by the Labour Party is ADPD, led by Sandra Gauci. Sandra Gauci has an excellent track record in political activism, constantly going round towns and villages to listen to constituents and getting involved in civil and political action that varies from preserving public spaces and the natural environment to fighting for rule of law. ADPD has also had meetings with business stakeholders and trade unions while the leader Sandra Gauci speaks frequently on social issues. Considering that uncontroversial positions of ADPD, the fact that its leader is a decent person, bridging its gap with the tens of thousands of disenfranchised voters should only be a problem of resources and practical communication. Of course, the set-up of the press and the media, rigged heavily by the Labour Party does not favour Sandra Gauci. On the other hand, PN can scrape off their own media and election campaign while still surviving.
I’m sure that Arnold Cassola will protest with this article saying that he is also a decent person and an effective political activist, and surely he is. But as a veteran politician who even formed part of an Italian coalition government should know better that he would have been more effective had he been part of a larger group that shared most of his values, instead of doing things Quixotically.
Political changes to what seems like a very familiar scenario may take a long time to materialise, but when they do, they may happen very quickly. As the numbers show, there are very clear fundamental reasons why a third party will eventually become more significant in the years to come.
Website Editor
Historian and Publisher
Leave a Reply