The new political party headed by Marlene Farrugia has no position yet on civil rights issues but has adopted a pro-human rights approach to migration.
The Democratic Party was unveiled yesterday through a press statement by a core team of individuals that includes hydrologist Marco Cremona and former Alternattiva Demokratika candidate Monique Agius.
Although the party is of centre-left inspiration, little else is known about its political beliefs.
But Dr Farrugia said the underlying force that brought people from all walks of life together was a yearning to stand up and be counted in the face of bad governance.
“We believe a person should be able to live in dignity from conception to death. To us humanity is more important than the economy and in what we do we will seek that which unites us,” she said.
Asked about civil rights, Dr Farrugia admitted there were different internal views on issues like gay marriage, abortion and embryo freezing.
“We will be discussing these issues and others and trying to find a position that converges, but this should not preclude us from moving forward on the overarching issue that brought us together in the first place: good governance,” Dr Farrugia told The Sunday Times of Malta.
On migration, Dr Farrugia said the party believed in universal human rights for all. Although the party acknowledged the difficulties irregular migration created for an island with limited resources, she insisted the focus should be on addressing the causes of displacement.
“Never should our frustration or anger be addressed at the people who escape strife and reach our shores,” she said.
The idea for a new party started brewing as public anger mounted soon after the Panama affair hit the news last February. By then, Dr Farrugia had been an independent MP for three months after resigning from the Labour Party.
Talks on a possible merger with Alternattiva Demokratika faltered over the past month but Dr Farrugia said the Democratic Party excluded nothing.
“We have great respect for the people at AD and I cannot exclude that we will work together in the future but we felt people wanted something new,” she said.
The party, which has the same name of a defunct political party led by economist Lino Briguglio in 1987, will adopt the colour orange.
“Orange is the colour of the sun as it rises and when it sets, which is representative of the cycle of life that returns with greater energy at every dawn,” she said.
People will shortly be able to register as members of the party, after which a general meeting will be called to approve the statute and formally elect the officials.
The officials announced yesterday, including Dr Farrugia as leader and Mr Cremona as general secretary, are on a temporary basis, chosen from among the founding members. The deputy leader is Anthony Buttigieg, a medical doctor, while engineer Duncan Bonnici is treasurer. Ms Agius is the public relations officer.
The party is expected to formally register itself with the Electoral Commission.