A protest vote: Does it have serious implications?

First of all let me take this opportunity to thank the many people who have congratulated me on my recent co-option as a member of Parliament. My promise is to continue serving the country to the best of my abilities.

In a few days' time, Maltese and Gozitans will be called upon to cast their vote in a first-ever election in our country, the election for five Maltese nationals to the highest institution in Europe, the European Parliament. These five people will be acting on our behalf and will be the ones responsible for our representation amid hundreds of other parliamentarians from all over the 25 EU countries.

Over the past few weeks I have been going round households and had the privilege of meeting various families. Some people are going through hardships. Indeed it might initially seem that the government and its affiliated institutions are not empathetic to these circumstances. This is understandable because the government always represents a paternal/maternal figure, especially in the lives of individuals living in small communities such as Malta and Gozo. Whoever is a parent can understand that parents cannot always accommodate the requests of their children not because they are inadequate but because certain things are impossible to provide instantaneously or providing them might not be ideal within the family dynamic.

When people become insightful into their own plight, most often they will come to the right conclusions. In fact, various people may easily conclude that, in hindsight, protest votes related to perceptions or realities of what could be wrongly affecting an individual lead to nothing except a volley of backfire on the same protesters. If one expresses his/her anger towards the central government by not voting, annulling his/her vote or voting for an alternative party he/she considers innocuous one would be risking electing an individual who is either not expert enough in the field or too biased on certain issues that are extraneous and foreign to one's own beliefs.

Protest votes are dangerous. More so in a polarised country like Malta when you get candidates from an opposing party claiming that if their party wins they would be very close to governing in Malta. It is obvious what this election is all about for these parties. It is about proving to themselves that they are still powerful. It could be used as a test of potency for one party or another. Not so for the Nationalist Party.

For us it is about electing the best five people to represent us in the European Parliament. It is about voting for those people who have always believed in one Europe and its strengths. It is about voting for people who have never mocked the concept of the European Union or any of its representatives.

Using a protest vote for whatever painful situation one could be going through is irresponsible. The Nationalist Party is definitely not a perfect entity but it is democratic and popular and for this reason ready to take objective and constructive criticism. It has its representatives to hear moans and groans and to try and help whenever possible. Throwing away one's vote as a temper tantrum is dangerous. This could lead to various situations which can ultimately result in the same people protesting in an undemocratic way to have to put up with difficulties that non-professional and unprepared representatives could lead us through.

Whoever has done a substantial amount of time working or studying abroad can immediately appreciate that we, Maltese and Gozitans, have by far been excellent ambassadors of our country wherever we go. My appeal to all voters is not to tarnish this image in this very important election.

Dr Cassar is a Nationalist member of Parliament.