Three gentlemen

I have been on the trail for the past four months now and I am finding the European parliament campaign as exciting and challenging as I had expected it to be. Many of those I meet view the fact that Malta and Gozo will be considered as one electoral district as some sort of drawback. I view it as a challenge that allows one to get into touch with more people, share ideas and see how things can be done better to improve the standard of living of all those who live on these islands.

One of my favourite activities so far has been meeting residents, both Maltese and foreign, in groups. We get to chat over a coffee or a drink and see how a valid representation in the European parliament could have a positive bearing on employment opportunities, our environment and the future prospects of our country. This representation must be conversant in European Union matters, bold and ready to stand up to be counted where it matters.

During these social activities I am being given a helping hand by a handful of friends and colleagues who decided to endorse my candidature. In a recent activity I had the honour to be flanked by my friends Martin Bonello Cole, Anthony J. Licari and Freddie Micallef.

I have known Martin both personally and in his professional capacity as managing partner of Grant Thornton Malta for quite a number of years now. I have always known him as a down-to-earth pragmatist with very good business sense and a sound ethical background. These qualities came out very clearly in his speech. He said what many people think: The decision on EU membership has now been made and indulging in that debate will not ripe any beneficial results for the country. Instead, one has to see how Malta can influence the development of the EU and in what way it can benefit from it. Our influence will be very limited but we must take up all the available space and work energetically to get the best deal possible. Martin is of the idea, and I fully agree with him, that Malta and its representatives should work actively to exploit certain niches, such as financial services, tourism and the film industry, with as much flexibility as possible within the EU context.

Anthony tackled the subject from a different aspect. He argued that both Malta and Europe need more Socialist governments and more Socialist members in the European parliament.

Anthony, who is a Sorbonne alumnus and one of the most well-known French language experts in Malta, is of this idea because Socialists are closer to the people and they have the common welfare of the masses at heart.

Anthony accused the Nationalist politicians of cheating students into believing that they can choose any university in Europe free of charge. The truth has emerged and it is far from "a choice of several free universities" for those attempting to register in one have been told to pay. Similarly, Nationalist politicians have cheated workers into believing that plenty of work opportunities would be available to them in Europe. They never mentioned the 20 million unemployed in Europe. On the other hand, Labour has been objective about the realities in Europe and is thus more to be trusted on this issue.

Freddie's intervention was a heart-felt one. He spoke about the country's problems and the way in which those whom I call "regular people", that is those thousands of law-abiding taxpayers, are not getting what they were promised.

The former minister, who is still very much respected by people from all sides of the political spectrum, said that one must be positive in both formulating and implementing ideas.

Freddie said that Labour candidates are best positioned to defend regular people and urged everyone to cast one's vote in June.

It is really an honour to have these three gentlemen by my side.

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