|
I have faith in the man; he is up to the challenge and enjoys everyone’s respect. I think other independent associations will follow suit
Karl Schembri
Property estate developer and former independent mayor Anglu Xuereb believes Josie Mucat will become Marsaskala mayor through his newly formed Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala in an interview with MaltaToday.
Arguing that local councils have been crippled by partisan politics to the extent that they can barely function, Xuereb says the two parties are now forcing independent minded thinkers to contest local elections – a development which he does not preclude from having repercussions on national elections too.
“When you contest the elections you’re battling against two giants who issue their own leaflets, propaganda, and brainwashing,” Xuereb said. “Your voice is very difficult to be heard. Why should anyone want to contest and lose face? Now it’s the parties who’ll suffer the consequences… now what will happen is that independents like Josie Muscat are forming their own parties, joining independent thinkers to form new alliances. Muscat managed to get this off the ground and I have no doubt he will become mayor. I have faith in the man; he is up to the challenge and enjoys everyone’s respect. I think other independent associations will follow suit.”
Calling for the two major parties to pull out of local elections and lobbying for former Nationalist MP Josie Muscat in the Marsaskala election as an independent, Xuereb says council elections have become “just a barometer” for the PN and MLP ahead of national elections.
“In the local councils there is no room for partisan politics,” Xuereb said. “I was Naxxar’s mayor for six years, one of the most successful councils because everyone was pulling the same rope. There were no partisan interests. What’s happening is that this is a small country and party politics dominate every aspect of our lives. The people are fed up.”
With partisan politics on the increase, local needs remain sidelined by the parties whose sole preoccupation lies with attacking each other, Xuereb said.
“Just watch the Sunday news for example. Try examining what the two political leaders say – reciprocal attacks and we’re ending up with an annual small-scale election,” he said.
“Some might argue that the same happens abroad where parties contest the council elections but there is the size which makes all the difference,” he says, calling for a reduction in the number of councils.
“Councils have been turned into the extended arms of the parties and of central government so that certain unpopular measures which have to be taken are passed on to the local council, giving them little opportunity to be creative and generate income.”
Xuereb says he was asked to contest again by both major parties after he called it a day, which he refused.
“We have enough partisan politics… and the central government should focus, it needs to focus on doing a proper job, not just on gaining more and more votes. This country’s political problems are due to the constant drumming, brainwashing the people. It shouldn’t be that way.”
Still, he said he understood Labour’s position to contest the local elections despite being against the idea after the PN persisted.
“I can understand the MLP’s stand because the PN would otherwise have been allowed a privileged role. The MLP had no alternative. Although I’m not the right person to comment, I think that if the MLP were elected to government they would change the local council elections and rid them of party politics.”
Are you saying they will ban parties from local elections? “I believe they will. … We’ll have to wait and see.”
And would you agree with that? “Yes.”
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
|
