Challenges (from December 2009 Attard council magazine)

Like all other towns and villages Attard is affected by policy decisions at the national level. The havoc created by the change in the rezoning of whole areas into the infamous ‘three-storey, semi-basement and penthouse’ zones by government in 2006 is a case in point. Ripping up of streets and pavements has become the order of the day. All this is happening in a country with more than 50,000 empty properties.

Another weakness in the local council’s setup is the lack of effective tools for the enforcement of basic civic duties. The private warden system is simply too expensive and ineffective. Littering and antisocial behaviour are a constant challenge. Some people still persist in taking out their mixed dirty waste on Tuesdays – the day reserved for the collection of recyclables.

As a minority councillor I try and do my best in influencing the decisions taken locally. A sore point is the deterioration of the railway embankment in Triq il-Linja – an example of 19th century industrial architecture which is rapidly crumbling to pieces. I asked for help
more than once. Till now my appeals fell on deaf ears. Another initiative is the provision by the council of photovoltaic panels to our local Primary School. In this way we are contributing in the move towards cleaner energy. I also asked for an education campaign about energy use – an article written by an expert in the subject which is being published in this magazine. Another project is the strengthening of the council’s recycling initiatives. Hopefully you will hear more about this early in 2010.

Finally I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

***

Ralph Cassar can be contacted on cassarralph@gmail.com or 99894962

Azzjoni legali dwar barrieri u illegalitajiet f’H'Attard

Kuntent hafna li wara xhur shah ta’ laqghat wasalna biex niehdu azzjoni dwar il-barrieri li qed jaghmlu hsara kbira f’H'Attard. Kuntent li jien kont u ghadni minn ta’ quddiem fl-insistenza tieghi li niehdu azzjoi konkreta u diretta. Wasalna ukoll ghax ir-residenti fosthom tnejn in partikolari hadmu hafna mieghi u ma’ kunsilliera ohrajn biex naslu… hawn taht hawn ir-rapport li deher fit-Times tal-10 ta’ Gunju 2009. Dan huwa biss l-ewwel pass legali… irridu nkomplu sa l-ahhar, sakemm tittiehed azzjoni konkreta mill-MEPA, il-Kummissarju tal-Artijiet u mill-Gvern biex jitwaqqfu l-illegalitajiet.

Wednesday, 10th June 2009

Attard council claims quarries causing damage
The Attard local council has filed two judicial protests against the authorities complaining that two construction companies have caused environmental damage to a valley in the locality.

The council claimed that Sand and Gravel Ltd and Rainbow Mix Concrete Ltd were also causing serious inconvenience to residents because the rock cutting in the quarries they operated in Wied Inċita were casting a lot of dust into the atmosphere.

The two protests were filed against the Commissioner of Lands and the Malta Environment Planning Authority.

A meeting was held between the council and Mepa last October about a number of problems connected to the quarries and, on November 12, Mepa sent a letter to the two companies asking them to reduce the height of their stockpiles of building debris, the council said.

The authority asked them to take all the necessary steps to solve the dust problem, to stop excavating outside the quarries and to submit rehabilitation plans.

The council claimed that Sand and Gravel Ltd had been given a 99-year lease by the government in 1967 and had broken the lease agreement by digging into public land and using it to park heavy vehicles. It added that even though the company had built a bridge across the valley and Mepa had slapped it with an enforcement notice, no action was taken to remove the bridge.

The council said it held the commissioner responsible and asked him to stop the encroachment onto public land and ensure that the company did not breach any of the lease conditions.

No money for Attard railway station restoration yet

James Debono (Maltatoday 22/03/2009)

Nationalist MP Charlò Bonnici is insisting the government funds the entire restoration of Attard’s old railway station, after the minister responsible for Heritage Malta said that only an estimate of costs could be provided.

Education and Culture Minister Dolores Cristina told the MP in parliament that Heritage Malta is only willing to provide the local council “with a quote of the works needed” if the council takes responsibility for this project.

Bonnici, a former deputy mayor of Attard, was asking the minister whether Heritage Malta was willing to finance restoration of the embankment and railway remains which he says is part of the national heritage.

Bonnici insists local councils do not have the necessary funds to carry out such projects unless they are voted specifically by government. “Getting an estimate for the job or taking responsibility for the project was never an issue for the council… the problem was getting the necessary funds,” he told MaltaToday.

He added that the project should be in the list of national projects for possibly co-financing by the EU.

But Alternattiva Demokratika councillor Ralph Cassar is insisting for Heritage Malta to at least conduct urgent works, because parts of the embankment are literally falling apart.

Cassar will be asking the council to write once again to Heritage Malta to explore ways to finance the project. “The local council’s staff surely needs the advice of Heritage Malta in its bid to seek funds for the project.”

Historian Henry Frendo describes Attard as a pivotal communication centre between 1883 and 1931, being the only place in Malta with no fewer than three railway stations: one near Sant’ Anton close to Balzan, another up the road in what is now “Gnien l-Istazzjon”, and another further up in Tas-Salvatur on the way to Rabat.

The heritage authorities are aware of the state of this relic of Malta’s transport history.

In 2007, both Bonnici and Cassar met the superintendent for cultural heritage who was aware of the problem. The council also alerted the Works Division. But while two officials from the division carried out a site inspection, no action was taken.

In June 2008, the Attard council wrote a letter to Heritage Malta requesting help. “We only received an acknowledgment. But we were never told whether Heritage Malta will help us or not,” Cassar said.

Cassar suggests it would be a good idea to ‘devolve’ the embankment to the local council, but due to the extent of the damage and length of the embankment the expense to restore it would cost thousands of euros, something which a local council on its own cannot really afford. “It would be a shame to let this unique piece of industrial architecture deteriorate.”

Energija – Esperjenza – Ewropa

Logo and campaign image, originally uploaded by Alternattiva Demokratika.

 

An exercise in realism

The striking quality of Green politics is that it strives to make the world a better place. A gratuitous clichè, one would say but, on closer inspection, a new and much-needed vision of society can be garnered, especially in the light of the unprecedented energy and financial crises we are facing today.

What distinguishes the Green parties from their political opponents is the search for innovative and sustainable solutions that can bring about real change.

Our detractors frequently describe our proposals as “unrealistic or unworkable”, something even Simon Busuttil has been harping on in the last few weeks (The Times, February 4).

The European People’s Party in the European Parliament is content to reach wide-ranging compromises with other political groupings, which water down ambitious initial proposals and end up keeping things as they are.

Many recent environmental measures were block-voted by the EPP and the PES, which succeeded in forming legislative measures that please industry and lobby groups but do not effectively address the concerns of residents and consumers.

Then again, of all political groups in the European Parliament, the EPP manages to place last when it comes to voting in favour of the environment.

The 1999-2004 Friends of the Earth study shows it; the voting pattern for 2004-2009 will surely confirm this.

For us Greens, this is a failure. When it comes to quality of life, a compromise favouring the strong is not a victory.

While parties like the EPP choose to pander to the pressure of industry, we see it in a different way.

And that is probably one of the choices which will be faced by the electorate come June 6. Our two candidates, Arnold Cassola and Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros, compliment each other.

Ms Ebejer Arqueros works with socially-oriented voluntary organisations. She is a mother who understands the challenges women face in trying to balance work and family.

Dr Cassola has garnered experience on the European political scene and has years of experience working at the centre of the European Union. They are the choice for those who value socially-oriented politics, a more ecologically-aware Malta and those who want Malta to be represented by people with a modern, citizen-centred outlook to policy.

What further distinguishes us is ambition. We are, however, not alone in our ambition: the world over, starting from Barack Obama’s US, is awakening to the need of a Green New Deal, which aims to create sustainable green jobs by putting people and the environment first. President Obama has, in fact, pledged, among many proposals, the generation of 2.5 million jobs in the creation of alternative energy technologies that will curb dependence on oil. The European Green Party will also be following suit with similar proposals for Europe.

We are not content with solutions cobbled up in the name of being workable and realistic. On the other hand, we are perfectly aware of our country’s particular characteristics and the election of an AD MEP will be fuelled by ambition but tempered by realism for the country’s sake.

In a recent public debate, Dr Cassola said that had we been in the EP in the previous legislature we too would have voted in conjunction with our fellow Maltese MEPs on the Working Time Directive. Aware of the fact that the Maltese workers commitments frequently mean they have to work more hours to make ends meet, we agree that the capping of work hours is detrimental to our labour force.

At the same time, this should be a clarion call to investigate low wages and the need to come up with an employment plan that aims at raising salaries in order to allow workers quality time, as was the original aim of the EU directive. Sitting pretty and grumbling about this measure while smugly proclaiming that our vote does not make us accomplices to it is not our style. We want to move on and propose a better solution.

The same applies to a spurious comment regarding Air Malta being bandied about by Dr Busuttil. AD is serious about climate change and believes that all industries should be treated the same.

Aviation too should be included in an emission trading scheme.

Had the emission trading scheme for airlines gone through, all airlines would have been on a level playing field, so the claim of Air Malta being at a disadvantage is dubious.

Dr Busuttil’s prophesying that this would have meant Air Malta closing down is preposterous. Air Malta’s problems stem from years and years of political interference and mismanagement by government appointees.

Emission trading schemes generate jobs and a source of funds for entrepreneurs and innovative business people and can also be applied differently to reflect the fact that some countries, such as Malta, are islands and, thus, isolated from the mainland where it is easier to use alternative means of transportation.

Some comments putting the environment and high standards on a collision course with economic growth give the wrong message that it is either jobs or a better quality of life when, in fact, the two go together.

It is very unfortunate that political ideology is used to create fallacious arguments that throw around doomsday scenarios and job losses for good measure. We Greens strive for a Green New Deal, which would increase job opportunities.

Mr Cassar is PRO of Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green party.

Banning of play… some thoughts

Very recently the theatre censors banned the staging of a play by Adrian Buckle’s theatre company Unifaun ‘Stitching’. The play tackles difficult issues … an unwanted pregnancy, a difficult relationship, doubts, fears… it is said to be very shocking.

We’re treading a very thin line here. Banning something, a play, a book, whatever can be very dangerous…. it should never happen unless… well I cannot say really what the ‘unless’ is! ‘Book burning’ happened under the worse regimes in history; a modern version of book burning is just as bad.

Of course, audiences should be made aware of the content of a play; everybody has the right to discuss, disagree, criticize and express their opinions about it… but having it banned is a step too far.

EPP, PN MEPs: THE WORST ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD IN THE EP

EPP has the worst track record on environmental legislation

 Alternattiva Demokratika’s two candidates for the European Parliament (EP) election in June said yesterday that the Green group in the EP is the only group that has been consistent on the issue of air quality. AD chairperson Arnold Cassola addressed a press conference yesterday in the busy Zabbar Road in Fgura, together with fellow candidate for the EP election Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros, and AD spokesperson for energy, industry and transport Ralph Cassar.

Prof. Cassola said it is a known fact that traffic is one of the biggest sources of pollutants, but Fgura and the surrounding areas also receive a significant load from the Marsa power station, which the government said will be decommissioned by 2015. Prior to the referendum on Malta’s accession to the EU way back in 2003, he said, the government had promised the Maltese electorate that this power station would either conform to EU standards by the date of accession, or else close down.

Mr Cassar said members of the European Parliament (MEPs) elected on the AD ticket would form part of the EP’s Green group, and this would guarantee a voice in favour of cleaner air. He said that a study carried out by Friends of the Earth (Europe) in 2004 (www.foeeurope.org/euvotewatch) showed that the European People’s Party (EPP) group – which the PN’s Simon Busuttil and David Casa now form part of – have the worst track record as regards environmental legislation. The study states that the EPP group had voted against strengthening environmental legislation about 80 per cent of the time between 1999 and 2004.

Mr Cassar said that a more recent example of Dr Busuttil and Mr Casa’s choice to side with the polluters is when they voted in favour of weakening existing EU targets on carbon dioxide emissions and postpone attainment of targets (Davies report, plenary vote 24 October 2007).

Prof. Cassola commented: “Does the government know whether the air quality limit values for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, as stipulated in the EU air quality directives, are being exceeded in busy roads such as Zabbar Road in Fgura, St Joseph High Road in Hamrun, Aldo Moro Road in Marsa, and Mrabat Road in Sliema, among others”.

Ms Ebejer Arqueros added: “I live in this area and the problem of pollution is very evident. Some years ago when I started teaching in a school here, the first thing that caught my attention was the large number of children on asthma medication.” She said AD has always been consistent on the issue of air quality, unlike some who talk about the environment days before an election, only to forget all about it the following day. The promises made on the Marsa power station in 2003 are a glaring testimony of how low air quality is on this government’s agenda, she said.

Prof. Cassola said an integrated approach is necessary to tackle the issue of pollution and poor air quality. First of all, the public transport system has to run for longer hours, be more frequent and reliable, he said. “Moreover, increasing the tree cover of the area, controlling sources of pollution such as the Marsa power station and the Marsa incinerator and creating more pedestrian zones are all tangible issues that could greatly improve air quality. “AD has the energy and experience to tackle these issues, while resisting the polluters’ lobby. It is consistent in working for improving people’s quality of life. It is in everyone’s interest to strengthen AD’s voice by electing AD MEPs on 6 June.”

Don’t believe the counterfeiters!

The Nationalist Party’s poor green credentials
Ralph Cassar

Having PN executive committee members like Caroline Galea (Sustaining The Green Debate, January 7) and PN candidates for the European Parliament writing articles extolling the supposedly green credentials of the Gonzi government does not make the PN green; not even pale green.

Consulting opinion polls and realising that the middle class have become more aware of green issues must have led the PN to plagiarise AD’s eco-Gozo proposal (with no real progress as yet) to do a volta face and profess the importance of renewable energy while not so long ago Austin Gatt rubbished alternative sources of energy. In the same breath this government is ignoring Maltese scientists and experts in this area who are calling for a strategy different from the government’s Sikka l-Bajda adventure. Indeed, how can one believe a Prime Minister who vowed that he would build a golf course in Xagħra l-Ħamra only to change course at a later stage on the basis of political expediency? The area previously earmarked for a golf course by none other than Lawrence Gonzi himself is still just a national park on paper only.

Hopefully, the NGOs entrusted with running the Majjistral Park will put their expertise to good use to get the government moving. Throwing around buzz words and slogans to dupe the misinformed does not make Dr Gonzi and the PN green. Far from it.

Ms Galea says that “climate change and alternative energy grabbed the limelight in 2008″. They may have grabbed the attention of the strategists at Pietà, but climate change and alternative energy have been on progressive green agendas for at least 20 years now. Wind energy is comparable or even cheaper than fossil fuel energy. As regards bio-fuel, extreme care must be taken not to make staple-foods from which ethanol is made-prohibitively expensive. If a field of corn is priced at the price of conventional fuels what we face is a world with even more poverty, hunger and threats to our collective security.

As for the complaint of “dragging our feet”, as Ms Galea remarked, who has been in government for the last 20 years almost uninterruptedly? The Nationalist government is still dragging its feet. The budget measures on renewable energy are but a drop in the ocean, and are more or less just cosmetic “look we’re doing something” measures. The way forward is first of all fuel efficiency, followed by sustained serious investment and incentives in renewable energy systems.

Another important issue is the urgent overhaul of the public transport system – another case of feet dragging and, worst of all, promises that nothing will change for years on end, obviously because getting at least one more vote than the opposition parties is the all-important target for the PN.

What about the building spree because of the Nationalist government’s decision to rezone whole areas of the country, allowing citizens to be buried alive in their homes – Attard, Swieqi, Sliema, Iklin, Lija, Balzan and many other places – and more than 4,000 permits outside development zones?

What Ms Galea has failed to mention is the regressive “leadership” of the European Peoples’ Party in the European Parliament and of other conservative governments.

The EPP and Angela Merkel, not to mention Silvio Berlusconi, have consistently given in to multinational corporations and diluted measures intended to seriously tackle climate change and pollution.

According to Friends of the Earth Europe’s EU vote watch, although sometimes MEPs vote tactically and “sacrifice” a certain vote in order to win another, the EPP is the worst political group by far when it comes to voting on environmental (including quality of life and pollution) issues. It ranks last of all the political groups, voting in an eco-friendly manner only 21.7 per cent of the time(www.foeeurope.org/euvotewatch/). The facts are crystal clear, propaganda will not change the truth one bit.

At the European level we need Alternattiva Demokratika MEPs to work for progressive, ecologist and visionary policies. Go for the original; not for a very poor counterfeit.

Victor Galea – Segretarju Generali ta’ AD fuq l-2009

(artiklu pubblikat ghall-ewwel darba fil-gazzetta ILLUM)

Jien nahseb li ser tkun sena interessanti.

Probabbli tul ix-xahar ta’ Jannar in-nies jibdew jircievu l-kontijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma. U dan ser ikun ta’ thassib ghall-maggoranza tal-familji bi dhul medju. Izda f’Marzu, imbaghad, ghax ikunu waslu l-elezzjonijiet, il-Gvern ihabbar trahhis fir-rati tad-dawl u l-ilma. Soltu storja nsomma.

F’April jrid jinbidel il-President u jkollna president jew presidenta, li suppost tgawdi ir-rispett ta’ ghadd kbir ta’ Maltin u Ghawdxin. Ma nafx kemm il-gvern nazzjonalista li m’ghandux il-maggoranza assoluta tal-voti tal-poplu Malti u Ghawdxi, jerga’ jissogra jinnomina xi politikant iehor nazzjonalist. Nittama biss li ma jintghazilx xi hadd li jkun maghruf kemm hadem ghal xi partit izda mhux ghall- pajjiz.

F’Gunju wiehed irid izomm f’ghajnejh li l-Maltin u l-Ghawdxin kollha ser ikun mitluba jivvutaw u jaghzlu membri ghal Parlament Ewropew u ghal numru ta’ kunsilli lokali. Hawnhekk il-poplu ser jerga’ jfakkar lill-gvern li huma ghandhom il-poter fuq il-vot taghhom. Allura ma nistaghgibx li nerga’ nara manuvri ma’ xi kategoriji ta’ votanti, bhalma gara bejn Gonzi u dawk li bnew illegalment fl-Armier lejlet l-elezzjoni generali. Lanqas nistaghgeb jekk, minkejja li l-insib spicca fl-1 ta’ Jannar, in-nazzjonalisti jippruvaw jilghabu xi loghba ohra mal-kaccaturi u n-nassaba. Probabbli wkoll naraw xi applikazzjonijiet miftuha ghal-xoghol mal-Gvern u forsi anke xi sorprizi fil-hatriet. L-esperjenza urietna li l-kilba ghal poter taf taghmel minn kollox.

Mill-banda l-ohra, nahseb li nibdew naraw xi rizultati ta’ xi riformi mwieghda qabel l-elezzjoni. Fosthom dik tal-ligi tal-kera, tal-kunsilli lokali u tat-trasport pubbliku. Inhoss li din ta’ l-ahhar hija l-aktar wahda li ser tolqot b’mod immedjat lil ghadd kbir ta’ nies. Ironikament, ir-riforma tat-trasport pubbliku suppost tibda mill-gzira t’Ghawdex, fejn it-trasport pubbliku huwa kwazi inezistenti – allura anke jekk inzidu xi rotta, din tkun okkazzjoni tajba fejn nistghu naqtghu xi zigarella u narawhom fuq l-ahbarijiet tat-tmienja ghax xi hadd jiddeciedi li din l-ahbar ghandha news value. Interessanti naraw kif Austin Gatt u Govanna Debono ser jahdmu flimkien biex ma jirfsux kallijiet.

Bil-haqq insejt ir-riforma tal-MEPA! Bhal hafna tibdiliet ohra li saru huwa inutli li tbiddel il-work practice jekk ma tbiddilx il-work ethics. Nifhem li din ta’ l-ahhar ser tkun bicca xoghol iebsa ghal Lawrence Gonzi, li nehha din ir-responsabbilta’ minn idejn George Pullicino. Id-diffikulta’ tibqa li wara li darrew lin-nies jemmnu li ‘mhux kemm taf imma lil min taf’, issa jriduna nahsbu b’mod iehor. Ma nahsibx li taht tmexxija ta’ gvern immexxi minn partit wiehed wahdu f’kollox, ‘kollox huwa possibbli’.

Nahseb li din is-sena wkoll tibqa is-sena tas-skiet u fomm maghluq fuq affarijiet li suppost isahhu d-demokrazijka f’Malta Ewropeja. In-nies mhux ser jinsew il-manuvri li nkixfu lejn tmiem is-sena li ghaddiet mill-e-mail ta’ Pawlu Borg Oliver fejn talab lill-Gvern jerga’ jibda jghaddi lill-Partit Nazzjonalista informazzjoni personali u sensittiva ta’ nies privati li jkunu marru ghandu b’xi ilment jew talba ghal ghajnuna. Ghalhekk mhux sorpriz li matul din is-sena wkoll, Lawrence Gonzi jibqa’ sieket dwar dan ukoll.

Mill-banda l-ohra, zgur li din is-sena ser nisimghu hafna kliem ta’ ottimizmu kemm mit-tmexxija nazzjonalista u anke mit-tmexxija laburista. Diskorsi.

Fuq livell internazzjonali, nahseb li hemm stennija dwar il-hidma tal-President Amerikan Barak Obama. Nahseb l-akbar stennija hija kif dan l-ewwel President Afro-Amerikan ser jahdem favur il-paci u s-serhan tal-mohh f’dinja mbezza’ mill-kunflitti, traffikar tan-nies f’pajjizi b’mod irregolari, gwerer, guh u ngustizzji.

Nahseb li naraw tibdiliet drastici dwar il-politika Ewropea rigward dak li kien jissejjah is-suq hieles f’dinja globalizzata.

Indunajna issa li s-sinjur aktar ma jkollu aktar irid, xi drabi b’detriment ghal min hu ifqar. Nahseb li fejn qabel il-gvernijiet tal-pajjizi hallew liberta’ assoluta lis-suq b’rizultat li l-ekonomija dinjija falliet; issa naraw li l-gvernijiet ser ikollhom jaghtu kaz aktar il-harsien socjali tac-cittadini taghhom. Allura nistenna li nara Ewropa aktar socjali.

Fuq livell personali, nahseb li ser tkun sena fejn ser inkompli nitghallem hafna affarijiet godda fosthom kif norganizza l-quccija ghat-tifel, li f’Mejju 2009 jaghlaq sena.

Gonzi u d-demokrazija

Il-Prim Ministru tal-minoranza tal-Maltin u l-Ghawdxin bl-ghajnuna ta’ dawk li jiddependu mill-PN biex jkollhom programm fuq it-TV (… u ejja tafu min hux?)… jilabghuha tal-paladini tad-demokrazija… imma l-kilba li ghandhom biex ikomplu jaqsmu kif jghidu bl-ingliz ‘the spoils’ huwa inkredibbli!… hawn taht qed nirriproduci artiklu ta’ Arnold Cassola dwar kummenti ‘illuminati’ hafna ta’ Gonzi ) … dalwaqt ukoll artiklu ta’ Victor Galea fuq aktar tahwid u tqanzieh…

L-Artiklu tac-Chairperson ta’ AD Arnold Cassola, ippubblikat fit-Times f’Dicembru 2008:

Sixth seat gymnastics

by Arnold Cassola

_______________________________________________________

The EU has paved the way for an agreement on Ireland holding a second referendum on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by October 31, 2009.

Generally speaking, this referendum will be introducing four new main guarantees for the Irish people: These consist in the following: 1. retention of one EU commissioner per member country; 2. full national autonomy in applying tax rates; 3. retention of the Irish concept of neutrality: 4. autonomy in the implementation of any laws related to the right to life, education and family values.

Nobody can foretell the outcome of next year’s Irish referendum result in October. However, if the Irish people vote in favour of ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, this would have two immediate institutional repercussions on our country.

The first thing is that Malta would maintain its right to have a permanent commissioner in the EU Commission. Which means that, by January 2010, we would have a new commissioner in place of Joe Borg who has already announced that he is not interested in serving a second term.

The second institutional implication would mean that Malta would get an added sixth seat in the European Parliament, to be taken up also probably as from January 2010.

We Maltese and Gozitans shall be electing our members of the European Parliament on June 6. When we go to the vote, all Maltese citizens will know that they are voting for five MEPs who will take up their seats in July 2009 and for a possible sixth MEP who, pending the result of the referendum in Ireland, would take up the seat six months later, in January 2010.

It is obvious that all Maltese electors will be going to the vote with this frame of mind. Which is why it would be very unseemly and untoward for the Maltese government to try and disallow the citizens to elect the prospective sixth Maltese MEP, through their vote, as from June 2009. The Prime Minister’s utterances in this regard raise grave concerns as to his intentions. Following the agreement at the latest EU summit, he was asked whether this meant Malta would be voting for six MEPs next June. He immediately answered that “this would still not be the case if the treaty is not in place by June. In the current undecided scenario, it was still too early to say how the eventual sixth MEP would be chosen”.

He added: “Let’s not jump the gun”, reminding journalists that the treaty’s ratification was not a foregone conclusion. “We will decide when we get there. The most important thing is that we have been assured that our sixth MEP will be in place as soon as the treaty is ratified.”

In this first declaration to The Times, Dr Gonzi already puts in doubt the Maltese people’s right to indicate their sixth MEP preference as from the June elections.

In his declaration to The Malta Independent, the Prime Minister went a sure step further: “Dr Gonzi confirmed that, come June MEP elections, Malta will be voting for a total of five European parliamentarians while the ways and means of electing an MEP for the sixth additional seat would be decided upon at a later date”.

Here, the Prime Minister’s views are clearly exposed. He is openly stating that on June 6 the Maltese people will be called upon to indicate their preference only for five MEPs. Then, four months later, he will decide “the ways and means of electing the sixth additional seat”.

Can you imagine the scenario? Spending around €1 million of citizens’ tax money to hold elections on June 6 and then spending another considerable amount to elect another MEP in another election four months later? Or is the Prime Minister already thinking of depriving the people of their right to choose by nominating somebody directly through Parliament?

These suspicions are further strengthened when one reads what Simon Busuttil, the Prime Minister’s right hand-man, his favoured one for the PN secretary general post, has to say about the subject: “But once the Lisbon Treaty will not be in force by next June, when the next European Parliament elections are due, we will still be electing five members, not six” (The Times, December 17).

Such declarations are not said off the cuff but reveal a readiness to deprive the people of their democratic right to choose a sixth elected representative. It is obvious that, legally, if things stay as they are, the electoral office can issue a writ only for the election of five MEP seats next June. But, knowing that a few months later there is the possibility that a sixth seat comes up, this can be remedied through a resolution in the Maltese Parliament, which allows the Maltese and Gozitan electors to decide also on June 6 for the possible sixth seat, when and if this comes up.

Since we are living in a democratic country, where it is the voters who choose their representatives and not the government or the Parliament of the day, I am expecting the Prime Minister to table this resolution in the Maltese Parliament as soon as the House reconvenes in January.

Failure to do so would mean complete disrespect of the people’s will.

At this stage, the onus of re-establishing the people’s sovereignty would lie in the hands of the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Muscat, who should table the resolution himself.

I look forward to seeing whether we shall be regaled with further sixth seat gymnastics following the Christmas recess.

Dr Cassola is chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green party.

arnoldcassola@gmail.com, www.arnoldcassola.wordpress.com