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The unfortunate decision to withdraw the four candidates from the Zejtun and Marsa local council list is curious and worrying. It does not augur well. It is more worrying since it originates from a political party that championed democracy in the eighties and created the local councils with the involvement of political parties in the nineties by empowering local citizens and popular suffrage.
What took place a few minutes before 7pm last Saturday goes against the spirit of democracy so fervently fought for by the previous leaders of the Nationalist party.
It finds its origins no doubt in the prospect of a landslide victory for Labour that would cast dark shadows over the PN’s current ‘popular’ standing.
It is a silly interpretation yet it is probably a correct assessment. What is sadder is the relative quiet about this electoral game play.
There is no precedent to candidate withdrawal in Maltese local council politics.
Before this there were only councils with no contestations between political parties or councils with the legally required number of candidates thus doing away with the need of an election.
This time round, the Marsa and Zejtun councils would have had an election, hadn’t the PN withdrawn its four candidates five minutes before the deadline for nominations.
This state of affairs calls for some serious thinking and soul searching at all political levels, most especially within the Nationalist Party.
Do we want people to choose their representatives or do we favour manipulating electoral results for purely numerical achievements.
The Nationalist Party must realise that it does not only have a role to be a populist party but additionally to be a leading player in the democratic process, leading by example as it certainly did in eighties.
As PN Secretary General Joe Saliba has stated so often, local council elections serve to gauge public discontent at mid term. The voting trend at local council elections does not always repeat itself at national election level.
If this is the case, then why this charade?
The news that the un-engineered landfills at Wied Fulija, Tal-Qortin and Maghtab are to be rehabilitated with European Union funds over a two to three year period is smashing news.
There is no beating round the bush: this is a positive measure that can only be commended.
It is now opportune to look ahead and constructively consider the realities of waste management for the next quarter of a century within the context of a 312 square kilometre Island State.
The sites at Maghtab, Wied Fulija and Qortin in Gozo cover a vast expanse in relation to our miniscule size. After the laborious steps that need to be taken, these sites could very well serve as ideal locations for parks. Recreational areas that could offer a green belt to an otherwise over-urbanised Island as has happened in other places such the US and Europe.
The three sites are all located in three beautiful shoreline vistas and could be an attractive recreational parkland that could benefit hundreds of Maltese families… in ten years from now.
That we have come this far, is in itself a feat. The commitment to change this country into an unpolluted and pristine haven is an obligation that does not solely rest with the politicians, but with us all.
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