One of the Nationalist Party’s first major tests is the MEP elections due in May next year. During the leadership campaign, I had promised to announce our list of candidates as early as possible. This would give them enough time to prepare their campaign and to meet the largest number of people and organisations possible in the run-up to the election.
In line with this commitment, last Monday the party’s executive committee approved the first group of candidates to represent the Nationalist Party at the European Parliament election next May.
In May, for the first time, Malta will elect six candidates to represent it in the European Parliament. Last time round, five candidates were elected as a sixth seat was added two years ago following changes in the EU Treaty that gave us an extra seat.
The list of PN candidates approved last Monday was the result of a new selection process undertaken by a commission that was specifically established for the selection of candidates.
This is the first time that the party entrusted this task to a group of people who operated at arms’ length from the party structures, thereby ensuring more transparency, thoroughness and objectivity in the selection process.
Chaired by former European commissioner Joe Borg, the commission performed a remarkable job by homing in on what we were looking for and what the prospective candidates had to offer.
To do so, the commission did not stop at evaluating candidates but also searched for the qualities needed for the team of candidates to be as broadly representative as possible. It took good note of what the public expects from candidates in whom they would be prepared to place their trust to represent their interests on a European level. And they opted for a group of persons from all walks of life who can readily connect with the electorate and, at the same time, provide competence at EU level.
Make no mistake. This was no mean feat because the commission had a long list of excellent names, virtually all of whom were potentially qualified to fit the bill. Alas, however, only a few could be chosen. The rest, I am sure, know that they still have the space to help the party in other ways.
The list of approved candidates consists of eight persons.
These are David Casa, who has served as an MEP along with me since 2004, and newly-elected MEP Roberta Metsola, who replaced me when I stepped down last April. Both David and Roberta clearly have the know-how and experience for the job.
But they are now joined on equal footing by another six new candidates who bring a remarkable mix of backgrounds, competence and experiences. They are Therese Comodini Cachia, Kevin Cutajar, Helga Ellul, Stefano Mallia, Kevin Plumpton and Jonathan Shaw.
These eight candidates will be possibly joined by a few more candidates who might be announced at a later stage.
My instructions to these candidates is to get out there as soon as possible and to start meeting as many families, workers, business operators, first-time voters, youths, pensioners and civil society organisations as possible.
It is for them to reach out and to transmit the message to voters that the PN is best placed to represent their interests in the European Parliament.
Our aim is win, for the first time, a third PN seat in the European Parliament. Indeed, experience has clearly shown that two PN seats in the European Parliament have delivered tangible results for Malta. With three seats we can do so much more.
The European Parliament elections give us the opportunity to start rebuilding bridges with the electorate
Nationalist MEPs also sit in the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament that commands the greatest influence on decision-making in the institution. The greater the number of Maltese MEPs in the EPP, the greater our country’s influence will be in the European Parliament.
To be sure, we are under no illusion that this will be an easy task. On the contrary, we acknowledge the difficult nature of this challenge, coming as it does so soon after last March’s general election defeat. But we will certainly give it our best shot and our team of candidates will help us make a difference.
The European Parliament elections next May give us the opportunity to start rebuilding bridges with the electorate and to signify our determination to earn back the people’s trust on the basis of seriousness and hard work.
We do not want people to trust us just because we want their vote. We want people to vote for us only if they think that we have worked hard enough to deserve their trust.
It is doable. A positive result is within our reach if we display the same teamwork, motivation, enthusiasm and drive that have been present in the party since its regeneration started less than three months ago.
Simon Busuttil is the Leader of the Opposition.