On May 26, 2013 (almost to the day of the MEP elections), the campaign to lower councils’ voting age to 16 was launched. Many others and I were all excited for young people, adults and the local political scene alike. 

Six years down the line, here we are on the eve of the MEP elections and this historical moment of young people voting for the first time in the European elections is practically not a news item. 

“Naturally,” one young person said in a recent interview. That’s great! It should be natural. They don’t need to be in the limelight. 

Actually they need to be. They are still used to stay behind politicians and given the word in assemblies, for the party to look ‘cool’.

Since the first campaigns, it was clear that it will be about ‘campaigning’. Great design, by the way, we have the third logo for a vote 16 campaign and still not sure which one I like best. 

A lot was invested in recruitment and promotion and so should it be. And yet studies carried out on this issue were rarely published or at least not publicised at all. The Church, way back to the first campaign suggested that political education for all would be introduced in schools and the big parties welcomed the idea. 

Till today no serious initiatives were taken to help young people, as they discover the political life as citizens and leaders, unless it was with partisan interests. 

I totally agree that parties should promote politics and political formation, even if need be getting membership at 14. But only if education had to be their first and foremost priority. The interest, though, is to ‘catch them young’, as I called it in a previous article. 

Youths and their votes are the priority, not education, true emancipation and empowerment. But why educate if you can give freebies? Why educate if you can organise a lottery? Why educate if a politician can state without any discomfort, Aħseb fija u jien naħseb fik? Why educate if you can organise a party at one of the big developers destroying our land and country? 

Why educate if top politicians are somehow still trying to convince that, as we destroy our land, pollute our country, shun immigrants, young couples struggle to have a new home, have an overall non-critical education system and ignore parent-children quality time thanks to our jobs, we are ‘developing’?

Young people are more intelligent than that and they deserve better. Our political system is one of many, and more of the same, yes, but I feel it was a lost opportunity for our country not to invest in political education and a true effort to empower young people. 

We can choose to break the cycle this Saturday. Young people are to take this opportunity to make their voice heard

Education and empowerment have to be as much as possible independent of puerile politics, ideally even within the parties. 

Yet these challenges and opportunities are still ahead of us. All is not lost and far from it, we still can do radical educational and empowerment strategies. I’m still convinced the 8,500 new voters this Saturday will be a breath of fresh air choosing with wisdom. 

I’m still convinced that even initiatives taken by political parties can emancipate. The thing is what type of politics we are feeding.

The problem lies within our political system which drains out the ideals of these young people. Only 21 per cent (38 per cent EU average) of local youths would post on social media about current issues (Eurobarometer, 2019); only 10 per cent would participate in some form or protest (35 per cent EU average); only 24 per cent of youths (33 per cent EU average) themselves believe education should help them to prepare to be active citizens.

In this context we still have budding politicians and active young citizens. This March three teenagers themselves submitted a winning proposal, in the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), to make European politics part of the European curriculum. 

We have a good number of young politicians, even teenagers who stick their neck out and speak out what they think, though they have already learned it is ‘scary’ to do so, as one youth said. 

We have a good number of candidates whom I encourage we should support, even more courageous ones ready to beat the bi-partisan mentality and contest as independent candidates or in the smaller parties. 

As Pope Francis said in his Message for Peace this year: “When the exercise of political power aims only at protecting the interests of a few privileged individuals, the future is compromised and young people can be tempted to lose confidence.”

We have this type of politics locally and we can choose to break the cycle this Saturday. Young people are to take this opportunity to make their voices heard, and adults are to support young politicians to propose: “Correct models of growth capable of guaranteeing respect for the environment, openness to life, concern for the family, social equality, the dignity of workers and the rights of future generations.”

Anthony Mifsud is active in youth ministry.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece