Oliver Scicluna Takes A Stand Against Clientelism For Votes: ‘This Mentality Must Stop’
Oliver Scicluna, one of Malta’s newest MPs has taken a stand against clientelism, expressing his thoughts on the undying ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours,’ approach to modern Maltese politics.
He made a public appeal today, whose purpose was to push voters to adopt a different mentality – one which doesn’t involve trading favours for electoral votes.
“That which is yours, is yours, so long as you have a rightful claim to it. It doesn’t have to be bartered with a vote,” said Scicluna, who maintained that it is his duty – a true politician’s duty – to pave his way forward based on genuine support of the populace, and without any strings attached.
“This mentality needs to stop, and it needs to be us politicians who take the stand once and for all.”
Scicluna was co-opted a little under one year ago, replacing Gavin Gulia, who resigned from parliament just a few minutes after being sworn in. At the time, he was serving as chairman of the commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability.
With the 2022 electoral campaign looming around the corner, Scicluna looks set to vie for his seat in cabinet – the question remaining is, will some voters change their outdated approach to politicians?
Do you think it’s about time Malta shifts away from its age-old systems of exchanging favours for votes?