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Marlene Pullicino was a Nationalist candidate who defected to Labour. Pro-EU, pro-Euro, pro-privatisation, she says the two parties are divided by style, not ideology.
In 1998, brandishing her double-barrelled surname, Marlene Pullicino Orlando, a dentist, contested the general elections on the PN ticket on the fifth electoral district, garnering just 311 first-count votes. Eight years on Marlene Pullicino is actively campaigning to get elected on the Labour ticket, without reneging on her past enthusiasm for European Union membership and keeping a clear distance from Tony Zarb’s militant antics.
 The new Labour candidate is the first to break the party’s silence on events in the General Workers Union. “I am not impressed by those advocating militancy. I am only convinced by those practising absolute democracy and transparency.”
She acknowledges that Zarb’s antics are not reflecting positively on the MLP as many still confuse the two entities. But Pullicino insists that many in the MLP are put off by the recent events in what was once perceived as the industrial arm of the Labour movement.
“Don’t forget that we are talking about individuals whose actions and decisions no longer represent the majority of the people representing the MLP.”
Pullicino does not enter into the merits on whether Tony Zarb was right or wrong in his stand-off with three section secretaries. She even describes Zarb as an intelligent person whose contribution for the country is needed. But she clearly disagrees with the way he faced criticism.
“We are here talking of persons who have been active in the union for decades. Even if they had committed mistakes, the proper thing to do was to bring them in line through persuasion and democratic means. I don’t agree with the abrupt way intelligent people like Josephine Attard Sultana and Manwel Micallef were treated. We need to tap the intelligence of everyone to move forward. We have to compete with other countries and we need everybody’s talent.”
Marlene Pullicino says that she disagrees with any institution whether it’s the PN, the MLP or the GWU, which expels rather than dialogues with critics.
Pullicino herself is an exceptional figure in the local political scenario for committing the ultimate sin of Maltese politics: that of switching sides from the PN to Labour. But for her defection to Labour, it was like returning home after years in a forced political exile.
“Nothing has changed for me. I have always stood by my beliefs. I have had a Labourite upbringing.”
Yet despite her Labour background, she ‘betrayed’ her family’s party by voting for the PN on her very first chance to vote, back in 1987. “After 16 years of Labour governments the time had come for a change of government. Back then the Labour party was is in a very similar position to that of the present Nationalist government which has been in government for so long.”
Pullicino insists that initially her relationship with Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who she later married, had nothing to do with her political decision to support the PN. “I fully agreed with the political programme of the PN which was very close to my centre-left views. On the other hand the MLP did not deserve to remain in government.”
In fact she did not have to renege on her social democratic beliefs upon joining the PN. “I have always been a moderate socialist. I have always believed that the country can only prosper, when those who are neither too rich nor too poor are financially and socially satisfied.”
Yet gradually, her marriage with Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando started to keep her from rejoining the MLP at an earlier stage. She had been in fact immediately struck by Alfred Sant’s leadership style.
“Had I been free at the time when Alfred Sant became leader of the MLP, I would have joined the MLP to bring forward my ideas to change the party. But since my husband was a PN deputy, I did not have any choice. It was my duty to continue supporting my husband.”
As time passed, Pullicino felt that the PN was betraying its promises. “I found it difficult to reconcile what the PN was preaching and what it was actually doing.”
Still, there was one issue keeping Pullicino within the Nationalist camp. “A vote for the PN meant a vote for joining the European Union. As long as this was the case I had no choice but to vote for them. The first time I voted for the MLP was in 2004.”
Yet the MLP is still led by Alfred Sant, who opposed EU membership and proclaimed that Labour’s alternative to EU membership, the oft-derided “partnership”, had indeed won the referendum. “I don’t think that partnership had won. Yet at that time it was a question of interpreting the result. What is important for me is that Alfred Sant has honoured his pledge to respect the verdict of the people expressed in the general elections.”
She also believes that had the MLP accepted the referendum result, it would have won the election. After the MLP accepted EU membership and her separation from husband Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Marlene was finally free to make her choice.
“I was now free to militate in the MLP without putting Jeffrey in a bad light. I could not join the MLP as long as it opposed EU membership. After my separation and the MLP’s acceptance of EU membership I was free to join Labour.”
Yet before joining the MLP, Pullicino still wanted a clear guarantee from the MLP leader that there was no turning back on the party’s new pro-membership stand. “When Alfred Sant called me for a meeting, I told him that I had voted for EU membership. I also made it clear that I stand by my convictions. He replied asking, ‘who told you I am against Europe?’”
Marlene Pullicino goes to great lengths to justify Alfred Sant’s pre-referendum antics. “Alfred Sant was not against Europe. He was against the treaty negotiated by the Nationalist government with the European Union. Partnership was simply another form of agreement with the EU.”
Pullicino still thinks that full membership was a better option than a partial agreement. “Even if the package negotiated was far from perfect, it was vital for Malta at that point in time to join the EU. Otherwise Malta risked being overtaken by countries like Cyprus. It did not make sense to negotiate a partial agreement through which Malta would have given a lot to the European Union without receiving anything in return. That is why I favoured full membership.”
Still, many floating voters who yearn for a change in government still distrust the MLP because they doubt its European credentials. Pullicino admits that while campaigning she meets a lot of people who are in this state of mind. “We must be very clear on this issue. After the majority of the people voted to join the EU, there should be no room for innuendoes. It is not the time to speak on what other options were available at that time. Our position is now clear. We are part of the EU and we have to work within its structures to get the best deal for Malta. ”
Yet she also faces Labourites who still feel uncomfortable with Europe. “What I tell these people is that we should find the best way to exploit membership instead of recriminating on joining in the first place. Had we not joined the EU we would have been in a worse position than we are now.”
The new MLP candidate thinks that both political parties are guilty of creating misconceptions on EU membership. “The MLP used to focus on the disadvantages of membership. On the other hand the PN used to focus on the advantages of membership. With the exception of certain newspapers, nobody gave a balanced view of membership.”
Marlene Pullicino’s enthusiasm for Europe is also translated in support for the adoption of the European currency. But does she agree with adopting the euro as early as 2008 as proposed by the government?
“If the country is economically prepared, we should join. The good thing is that it will be EU itself, which will decide if we are ready to take this step. Whoever is involved in business transactions with Europe knows that the euro will have a positive impact.”
Although she thinks that the country is not ready just now, Marlene thinks that there is still time until 2008 for the country to recover.
“We are still in 2006. If we continue tightening the belt while reducing waste we will get there. But this goal cannot be reached simply by taxing the people as the present government is doing. We have to reduce waste and ensure that contracts are not awarded to accommodate cliques.”
Now that the EU issue has disappeared from the realm of political controversy, Pullicino thinks the difference between the two parties is essentially one of style rather than ideology. She also contends that many of the aims set by the PN are still valid even if the means used have been questionable.
“The Nationalist Party’s betrayal of its promises is clear in the way it treats the man in the street. Arrogance pervades this government. There are too many cliques around the circles of power. Certain decisions are not even being taken by the party and if the party actually has a say it is taking decisions on behalf of these cliques.”
When it comes to ideological choices Marlene does not see any substantial differences.
“In most cases I agree with privatisation. I agree that we needed a new hospital even if I think that a lot of funds were wasted in the process. I have always agreed with joining the European Union.”
But while agreeing with the aims set by the Nationalist government she disagrees with the means used by the government to reach these ends. “We had embarked on the right path but one can arrive at the same destination using different means. In order to arrive at a destination we can either get there by walking together or by riding rough shod on trampling on others. This is the essential difference between the two parties.”
Yet when Alfred Sant was in government way back in 1996, he was also accused of trampling and riding roughshod on the people. How different will he be the next time round?
Marlene Pullicino defends Sant’s legacy. “Malta at that time was like a business firm already in decline which had a new owner. Like any new owner Alfred Sant had to take action to stop the decline. But since he had no intention on cutting the service offered by the business firm, Alfred Sant had little to show after just two years in office.”
She insists that the Nationalists had left too many problems under the carpet which Alfred Sant did not have enough time to redress. “It is true that international oil prices are a factor in the increase in water and electricity bills, but for the past two decades Nationalist governments have not done anything to decrease our dependency on oil by promoting renewable energy sources.”
One of Marlene Pullicino’s top priorities is the environment. “We cannot afford to continue living in a concrete jungle as this is having an adverse effect on the well being and the psychological health of the people. The construction industry should be redirected from building on the countryside to restoring old buildings.”
As regards demand for accommodation, Pullicino thinks it would have been better had the government opted for high rise development in a particular area in Malta, which would be endowed with its lungs – open spaces and gardens. “On the other hand our villages should be conserved and the government should give incentives such as tax rebates to people restoring houses in the village cores.”
Marlene Pullicino was very critical of the recent extension of development zones. Yet just a month prior to the proposal for a rationalisation of development boundaries, she presented a planning application for the restoration of the Torri tal-Kaptan in Qrendi, which she has now purchased. The castle has been included in the revised scheme but Pullicino claims she was surprised to learn that this property and the surrounding garden have been included. She also gives a clear commitment that she is not interested in speculating on this property.
“I love old houses. I knew the former owners who had inherited the property and I helped them to reach an agreement. Finally I managed to convince them to sell it to me.”
She also insists that she has no intention to develop the surrounding gardens, which have now been opened for development. “I am completely against the idea of developing gardens within old traditional houses. In this way we are losing the lungs of our towns and villages.”
Marlene Pullicino’s former husband, Jeffrey, justified voting for the new development schemes arguing that in this way he was clipping the wings of a future Labour government which would have ended up offering even more land for development.
“One cannot close a process by committing a mistake. Both the MLP and PN were mistaken in the past when they opened the floodgates for development. They did not plan ahead. For me this is simply a silly excuse.”
Despite her forward-looking ideas, Pullicino is quite conservative on family issues. Despite being separated, Marlene disagrees with divorce. “I disagree with divorce and abortion. But the Church should make it easier for couples to get an annulment if they deserve it. Otherwise divorce will be inevitable.”
The new MLP candidate is deeply rooted in her constituency in the fifth district which includes inward-looking localities like Qrendi and Zurrieq where the parish feast is still a central event for many young people. She admits giving considerable cash donations to the St Catherine and Carmelite band clubs in Zurrieq. During the band march, participants had ‘Marlene Dental Clinic’ written on their back, after the good dentist offered them a sponsorship.
But she insists that she does this more out of love for the community than for propaganda. “Whenever these youths ask me for anything, I help them.” She praises band clubs and those involved in the village feast for creating the space for youth to aggregate and work for a common goal. “In these clubs, youths keep traditions alive while at the same time they also acquire organisational skills. I feel a duty to help them.”
A former band player, Marlene Pullicino regrets that due to her commitments she cannot play an active part in the organisation of the feast. “I feel obliged to help them. While I get paid for my work, these youths work without getting any financial reward in return. What I am not giving in voluntary work, I am now giving in financial support.”
Still she acknowledges that the t-shirts with her name printed on them do have a political message, as she suddenly switches on to the third person which is in itself, a political plug for the interview. “The t-shirt shows that Marlene supports feasts and Maltese traditions and that although she is no longer playing in the band and helping during the preparation of the feast, she is still there ready to help.” Get the message, voters?
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