Former PD leader Anthony Buttigieg to contest election on ADPD ticket

Anthony Buttigieg, former leader of Partit Demokratiku, has announced that he will be contesting the next general election with ADPD.

Buttigieg will be on the ballot sheet for the 1st and 10th districts.

ADPD was created after the merger of the Democratic Party and Alternattiva Demokratika.

Buttigieg said that he is choosing the "hard path" by contesting with a third party, but is committed to breaking the PN-PL duopoly for a "fairer more democratic Malta".

Buttigieg also said on Twitter that he believes ADPD are "honest and genuinely have the well-being and preservation of this nation at heart."

He was a founding member of the Democratic Party, served as deputy leader, and had eventually taken over the leadership from Marlene Farrugia. In the 2017 general election, PD candidates had contested on the Nationalist Party ticket as part of Forza Nazzjonali coalition.

Buttigieg had eventually stepped down from party leader in 2018, in order to contest the 2019 MEP elections.

In an opinion piece published today in the Times of Malta, Buttigieg said that that he had never dreamt of entering politics, but he did so in order to combat the "bipartisan revolving door of favours, kickbacks, omertà and nepotism that ensured the ruling political class had unbelievable sway over the political, business and personal future of far too many."

He also commented on the economy, that according to him, is under a severe threat because the government is open only to the opinion of the party faithful..

He also had harsh words for the politicians that, according to him, are serving the interests of the wealthy, when taking away the shores and countryside away from the people. Buttigieg said one such example were the Marsaskala marina plans, that have been recently proposed.

"I have decided to contest the next election. Not because I expect to win a seat or gain a place on some government board. But because I have decided to give you a choice," he said.

"I will contest under the AD/PD banner, not because that party is perfect. It is not. But, then, nor am I. I will do so because they are honest and genuinely have the well-being and preservation of this nation at heart," Buttigieg added.

In the 2017 election, Buttigieg got 134 first-count votes on the 1st District and 98 on the 10th. In the 2019 MEP election he received 306 first-count votes.