Restoring confidence in the Sliema council is one of Anthony Chircop’s main priorities after being elected as its new mayor following an abysmal two years characterised by bickering and criminal investigations.

I am not saying I have a magic wand but we need to put partisan politics aside

A newcomer to the political scene, Mr Chircop believes the new council has a lot of work ahead to restore confidence and reassure residents the council is really there for the people.

He is confident the team elected at last Saturday’s election has the “right mixture of experience, maturity and energy” to regain people’s trust.

Sliema’s low voter turnout of 43 per cent was the result of people’s “disappointment” and a sign residents were “terribly upset” with how the previous council operated.

“I am not saying I have a magic wand but we need to put partisan politics aside and work hard to get residents back on our side. I vouch to give the council back to residents and have a council with an open-door policy, carrying out our work through interaction with residents” Mr Chircop said.

This was his main priority as mayor, along with other small-scale projects, which, he says, do not cost a lot of money.

“I obviously have to see what the council’s situation is, including financially, but I have some things in mind that do not cost much, like repairing pavements that are in a terrible state, getting the circular bus working again, seeing to the parking situation that is frustrating residents and some patching work that was either not done properly or simply never done. Having said this, one year is just too short.”

Asked whether he was happy with his team of councillors, Mr Chircop replied: “I’m happy with the varied team. We have age, experience, youth and different professions. There are also experienced councillors on board. I am confident we will all work together in the locality’s best interest.”

Mr Chircop spent many years in the hospitality industry, managing a family hotel business and even held important posts such as the president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. He represents Malta on the World Tourism Organisation.

He plans to “give all his time and energy” to the council “to prove to residents we are different” and is eager to point out that he had “absolutely nothing to do with the previous council”.

“The previous council was inundated with problems, probably all due to immaturity. The new council has to pull the same rope and play the game together. Any squabbles have to be dealt with immediately and resolved internally. If we stay looking at each other’s defects, we will waste precious time, which is not on our side,” he said.

Asked about councillor Julian Galea’s comments that he had a phobia of Labourites, Mr Chircop did not mince his words in “disassociating himself” from the comments, probably the result of “lack of maturity”.

However, he said Mr Galea had a valid contribution to make to the new council.