Watch: Labour CEO Decries Malta’s Partisan ‘Curse’ And Says Politicians Must Be More Genuine
Labour CEO and MP Randolph De Battista warned that Malta suffers from a “curse” of partisan politics and urged politicians to show their “genuineness” and emotions more frequently.
“Malta has a lot of beauty but it also has a defect, practically a curse, and one that probably originates from our colonial past, and that is the partisanship of red and blue, of us and you,” De Battista said in Parliament.
After he told a Sidestreet journalist that he felt “ashamed” of his vote against a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia, De Battista said he wanted to convey a message about how politicians should behave
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“I didn’t say I was ashamed so that the other side and journalists could feast on my words or so bloggers could sow fictional stories. I said it because Malta needs politicians to show more genuineness and emotion.”
“I’m not saying they aren’t, but for many years the trend in politics was that if you display this type of genuineness it means you aren’t strong. I don’t care if I appear strong or not. I will say what I feel.”
De Battista said that everyone has lessons to learn from the Sofia inquiry – from lawyers ready to do anything to ensure their clients get off scot-free to people who “wear political blinkers” when attacking others online to politicians who value their own ego above the common good.
“Speaking for myself first of all, I must be more convincing and perseverant, and yes, I will stamp my feet in favour of what is right and to protect those at the bottom.”
“We must all learn that no ego is bigger than the satisfaction you feel when you help struggling people at the bottom of society,” he said.
“We must learn that transparency and good governance aren’t a threat or vapid concepts but basic social principles that must be a prerequisite for people entering a job of so much responsibility and trust.”
De Battista’s partner, PL MEP Cyrus Engerer, recently published a photo of the two of them together, stating they are “tired of the status quo” and that it’s time to “shake things up and restore faith in our democracy”.
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While De Battista pledged to be more critical in his speech, he didn’t show any overt sign that he was ready to leave the Labour Party to join another party or start a new one.
Instead, he praised Prime Minister Robert Abela for his pledge to implement the findings of the Sofia inquiry, stating that it “filled people with hope”.
“If ever there was a Cabinet with a track record of implementing reforms that no one had the guts to touch in such a short span of time, it was Abela’s Cabinet,” he said. “They reformed the qbiela laws, implemented constitutional reforms… thats why people were filled with hope when they heard him speak.”
What do you make of Randolph De Battista’s speech?
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