A couple of weeks ago we bid farewell to Joe Cassar – Peppinu as he was affectionately known in his district.

Some argue that to some extent his time was a golden era. Probably the adjective suits well because the new administration, voted in following the May 1987 elections had given us a normal democracy, where calm reigned and rule of law was re-established.

As a result, credibility in institutions was regained by the public. I did not know Peppinu that much. I was still young and he hailed from another district. But a good friend of mine does.

We had a couple of exchanges about him recently and noted that, except for the political violence, one can note various similarities between his time and today’s scenario.

Like in Peppinu’s time, we are witnessing once again the crumbling of institutions and a growing momentum of public distrust in them.

Peppinu remained humble. He didn’t float about a flamboyant or lavish lifestyle. I also got to know that he was even criticised internally when he was parliamentary secretary for housing because he was adamant to deliver social justice on merit irrespective of whether one was blue or red.

This was reflected in the crowd that attended his funeral, made up of people who hailed from across the whole political spectrum.

 

■ Unfortunately, the current administration is giving us the opposite of this. Money is king in every policy the government is coming up with and then our same government throws some bread crumbs at us to try to convince us how good things are.

Elements from the same government – while expecting us to pay every euro in taxes as should be – are hiding money at the other end of the globe. Also, we have witnessed the St George’s Bay ITS land saga, where we have seen big businesses expecting to buy the silence of politicians for a donation and, perhaps for a higher donation, also pulling the strings of the political class.

The Nationalist Party wants to put you, rather than corporations and big businesses, back at the centre of its policies. It wants to regain your trust in the impartiality of institutions, that you as a citizen deserve. It wants you to have faith in the police force that is there to protect you and not to cover up for the powerful.

It wants you to have a better quality of life by having less commuting time to and from work. It wants your elderly loved ones to enjoy their full pension and a dignified one. The Nationalist Party is all about you.

So on June 3 when voting think of politicians who want to put you at the centre of their policies so that Peppinu’s legacy lives on. We’re doing all this for our future’s sake.

Peppinu belonged to a breed of politicians that sought to serve the country’s interests and the common good. Let his commitment, dedication and values inspire us at this moment in our history.

 

David Vassallo is a Nationalist Party election candidate on the seventh district.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.