Watch: What New Labour MEP Thomas Bajada Said About Political Tribalism
This election was a pretty tribalistic affair, but one of Malta’s new MEPs had said he was concerned at the way things were playing out.
During an Ewropej fil-Pjazza debate in Gozo organised by Lovin Malta and MaltaToday during the campaign, Bajada was asked whether he thinks the Vitals inquiry would influence the result.
Rather than embarking on the typical party spiel of criticising the magistrate and praising Joseph Muscat, Bajada said he was concerned that the inquiry’s timing, so close to an election, was fostering political tribalism.
“As a young candidate, I joined this campaign to discuss our country’s aspirations for the next five years and beyond,” he said.
“I felt concerned that the inquiry was concluded at a moment that created political tribalism. We ended up in a situation of red versus blue, rather than talking about the red and white of the Maltese flag, and where the country must go”
“We must always encourage mature discussions, as we’re doing today, on where we want to go and get out of this sense of political tribalism and discussions that always end up stuck on the same few topics.”
Asked why he joined a big party if he is concerned about political tribalism, Bajada responded that he won’t be afraid to call out wrongdoing whenever he sees it.
“You must learn from what went wrong and look forward to the future,” he said.
“With political tribalism, you end up pointing fingers at what happened in the past, but we should build on the past, learn from it and look forward. That’s what youths want, and the polls clearly show that youths aren’t adapting to the current political situation.”
“They want future-looking politics that talks about their dreams and ambitions, thats where we must go.”
This action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament’s grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action.
READ NEXT: ‘The Genuine Pains I Spoke About Are Real’: Conrad Borg Manchè Reacts To Election Result
