PN MP rails against 16-year-old mayors, deletes comment after realising party is in favour

Nationalist shadow minister for education, Justin Schembri has expressed his reservations to government's recently announced bill that would allow individuals as young as 16 years old to become mayors or deputy mayors.

Commenting on a news article announcing the bill on Facebook, Schembri called the idea, "The most senseless thing that could happen," as he stated that 16-year-olds don't have the experience to lead a locality. Schembri has since deleted the comment.

The comment has since been deleted

Schembri stated this despite a PN proposal that called for 16-year-olds to be allowed to serve as mayors in its local government policy document titled 'Gvern Lokali ta’ Vera'.

The PN MP has refused to comment on the issue when contacted by MaltaToday, instead referring the newspaper to the party's spokesperson for local government, Darren Carabott.

In fact, Carabott had come out in favour of allowing 16-year-olds to hold the position of mayor back in June.

Meanwhile, the news of the bill was met with a barrage of criticism on social media, as many questioned if 16-year-olds are truly able to hold such responsibilities.