Meet The Maltese ‘Spaceman’ Who Wants To Shake Up Our Political System At MEP Elections
As a space industry expert who based in the Czech Republic, Antoine Borg could hardly be more detached from the Maltese political scene. However, he will try his luck at the European Parliament elections next May, under the banner of a one-man party audaciously named ‘Brain Not Ego’.
“After I launched a political blog last year, a number of people started recommending that I contest the MEP elections,” Borg told Lovin Malta. “At first I thought it was a joke, but the more I thought about it, the more interesting the prospect became.”
“However, I couldn’t see myself sitting in either of the two mainstream political parties because Europe is about more than petty partisan politics and we need someone who will represent the Maltese people irrespective of whether they are Labour or PN.”
Borg works as a technical support and procurement officer with Galileo, the EU’s new global satellite navigation system, and believes he can use his experience to raise awareness of the EU grants and opportunities which are available for Maltese business.
“There are many EU research and development facilities, such as in app development, IT services and project management, that are applicable for Maltese industries,” he said. “However, there’s a general lack of awareness in Malta and I can bridge the gap between the bureaucratic wording of Europe and the man on the street.”
Borg had constructive criticism for both Labour and PN, as well as the small parties Alternattiva Demokratika and Partit Demokratiku.
“After only six years in government, Labour has already developed an arrogance problem that the PN had only developed after 20 years in power,” he said. “This is worrying because it implies complacency and a sense of entitlement coming from the party.”
As for the PN, Borg warned it has a leadership problem and has actually grown weaker since its disastrous election result two years ago.
“No matter what goes on in the internal party structures, does the average man in the street see the people running the show in the PN as inspiring people who they will follow till the end of the earth? I don’t get this sense and many people I spoke to have confirmed this opinion of lacklustre leadership and a lack of direction and purpose.”
While Borg sympathises with the small parties, he warned AD has a serious credibility problem after performing so poorly in so many elections while PD comes across as being too negative.
“PD is doing some excellent work but sometimes it comes across as being too Eeyore-ish,” he said. “While I understand their complaints and while they seem to be a bunch of really good people, they do tend to have a sense of doom and gloom about them.”
Borg said his campaign will focus on three major EU issues – the need to clamp down on criminal gangs trafficking people to Europe, the importance of the EU developing into a global leader in combating climate change, and the need for the EU’s economic strategy to veer once more towards manufacturing.
“A report by the Bank of England indicated a clear correlation between income inequality and economic moves away from manufacturing and towards a services industry,” he said. “The EU needs to improve its economic management and start promoting manufacturing once more over the next decade or it will end up unwittingly abandoning its own citizens.”
The road ahead is certainly a tricky one for Borg, especially since he is a completely new face and doesn’t have the backing of a political party, but the space industry officer said he is optimistic about his own chances.
“It is too early to say whether or not I have a chance in the election, but many people seem to very disgruntled with both major parties and this is rather hopeful for me,” he said.
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