Alternattiva Demokratika co-founder Arnold Cassola resigned from the party solely over the abortion issue, insisting with The Sunday Times of Malta his principles come first.
Speaking a week after announcing he would resign from the party, Prof. Cassola, a former AD chairman, described himself as “a consistent person” who stuck by his principles, even if that meant leaving the party which had been a major part of his life for many years.
He told the newspaper that while, as is the case in every party, there were always issues that members disagreed on, it was the abortion debate that prompted his departure. He dismissed rumours that there might have been other problems brewing between AD chairman Carmel Cacopardo and himself.
“Of course it doesn’t mean that we didn’t have disagreements on other things, as is the case in any political party. But there are things that are too important. This is an important issue for me and for all of us.
“The internal discussion in AD has always been ongoing, as with any other parties. In these discussions there are also people who are in favour or against. Obviously times change and I am from an older generation and it’s just about the principle you believe in really,” Prof. Cassola explained.
There is a big gap in Maltese politics at the moment and people are very confused, and this abortion issue might have confused them even more
According to the former AD chairman, the party had given him assurances “in writing” that it was going to campaign on an anti-abortion plank, noting that while AD remained against abortion, it was not dissociating itself from comments made by MEP candidate Mina Tolu. The AD candidate last week said that political parties’ refusal to discuss abortion and reproductive rights was “frightening and unacceptable”.
“What irked me is that on such sensitive issues you don’t just go and propose something off the cuff on Facebook,” Prof. Cassola said.
On whether there had ever been any other instances in the 30 years he spent with AD when he had ever mulled quitting the party as a result of similar conflicts, Prof. Cassola said that this had never been the case.
“There were never such serious issues where somebody just went out and spoke up. Unfortunately, we are in a context where people don’t distinguish between the person and the party especially in a small place like Malta, where you cannot just say that you want a personal discussion,” Prof. Cassola said.
When this happens, he said, parties should amend their policies, take these to members during the Annual General Meeting and only if they vote in favour of introducing them should these be taken up.
Asked about his decision to contest the European Parliament elections as an independent candidate and whether he believed he had a chance of being elected, Prof. Cassola said that while he received “a lot of positive feedback” for sticking to what he believed in, he was also aware of the fact that in Malta such candidates did have not successful track records.
He insisted, however, that he wanted to “be there” for those voters who were confused and who did not feel they could vote for either of the two main parties.
“There is a big gap in Maltese politics at the moment and people are very confused, and this abortion issue might have confused them even more.
“There is certainly a lot of confusion with people not sure who they identify with. When you have both parties voting in favour of petrol stations, both in favour of the Gozo tunnel, both in favour of hunting, land reclamation, who do people turn to? There are certainly people who do not have a home anymore.”
Prof. Cassola was among the founders of AD in 1989 and secretary general of the European Greens Party between 1999 and 2006. He was a member of the Italian Parliament between 2006 and 2008.
In the 2004 election for the European Parliament he obtained 9.33 per cent (or 23,000 votes) of the first-preference votes, just failing to be elected one of Malta’s five MEPs.