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Of all the improbable epithets thrown at me in this election campaign the one I consider to have been the most creative was ‘bigheaded.’ Had I suffered from delusions of grandeur I would surely have joined one of our rivals who are obsessed with size above all else.
It appears that it has given some offense that I simply stated the facts about Arnold Cassola being head and shoulders above his competition in this election campaign. It would be criminal negligence on my part if I failed to advertise the fact as widely as possible.
He has every quality which can be totted up in favour of any of his competitors and others which they do not possess. In this election he alone has relevant experience in the post for which the contenders have applied. Should I be apologetic about it?
Only Arnold Cassola can claim a four year experience as Secretary General of one of the key political groupings in the European Parliament. He has spent the last four years based in his office in the European parliament building, across the corridor from where it all happens. He has traveled widely across Europe becoming familiar with national and transnational political situations, all at no expense to Malta.
He has not been rubbing shoulders with the great and famous for a few weeks as a tourist. He has been a major actor for the crucial years of EU membership negotiation. He was one of the 6 Secretaries General of the parties represented in the EP to spend the past four years framing the rules for the setting up of transnational political parties. He is not a wallflower he is a principal actor representing 8 million Greens across Europe.
Which of his competitors can claim anything like his experience in dealing with EU institutions? Which of them is known to anyone in their own political grouping? Which of them is known outside it? Should I be shy about saying that Arnold Cassola knows his way about the European parliament and will not have to spend months learning and years becoming known to his colleagues. It would be daft to keep quiet about it.
He is the only candidate with a track record for delivering the goods. For the past four years he has nudged, cajoled and criticized the government to make a move on a myriad issues. The government kneejerked the wrong way on Malta’s right to apply for EU emergency funds after last year’s rains. Arnold insisted and Malta obtained a million euros of aid.
Which candidate other than Arnold Cassola can claim to have obtained the approval of the European Parliament for Malta to have 6 MEPs? It was done. The support of the European Parliament to Malta’s bid for greater representation was obtained on Arnold Cassola’s initiative. In the final Copenhagen negotiations this advantage was squandered by the Maltese negotiators who seemed to have had other priorities at the time. Other applicant countries made their representation gains at that point. Now Malta will have to fight alone not only for the fading possibility of having 6 MEPs in future but also a rearguard battle to prevent the number of MEPs from being reduced from 5 to 4. Should I keep quiet about all this not to offend some sensitive soul?
Which other candidate offers the Maltese electorate the possibility of being represented in a third political grouping in the European Parliament? It’s not boasting. It’s a bald fact that only Arnold Cassola offers the country this key advantage. Half the EP decisions are taken after achieving a consensus. The other half find the PPE (PN) and the PSE (MLP) canceling each other out. The decision is left to the smaller political groupings. Representation in the crucial Green Group can only be achieved by Maltese voters if Arnold Cassola is elected. Who can deny it? Why should I not shout it from the rooftops? It’s not boasting but simply vital information to voters. Why should they miss this chance of enhancing the country’s influence on EU decision making?
As far as consistency is concerned Arnold need fear no equal. He has not spent months claiming to be a political neutral only to cast in his lot with a major political party in the last weeks. He has stated his opinions in writing and publicly for the past 27 years. For the past 15 he has faced all sorts of political storms with the Greens. He has been unswerving in his commitment to EU membership, striving hard against the constraints of the two-party system to make transitions and restructuring as comfortable as possible.
His credibility is unchallenged. All the shameful mudslinging in this campaign has allowed him to stand out as a man who sticks to his principles in public and in private, in Malta and abroad. He has earned the respect of his colleagues abroad by being able to contradict them on matters of principle. He bears witness to his principles where it counts most. The mudslinging made it all the more clear. He never responded in kind to smears and fabrications.
I have no shame in boasting about Arnold Cassola’s first class qualifications to represent Malta in the European Parliament. He is Malta’s only certified, export quality politician. Above all only his election offers the country a hope of bringing about the beginning of the end of zero-sum politics. He offers the country a chance to send a clear message to the other political parties that it wants a serious change for the better. I have no worries in stating the facts. Maltese voters have a right to make an informed choice regardless of the media cacophony. On the 12 of June voters will make their choice and what our common future will be is in completely their hands.
Dr Vassallo is Chairperson of Alternattiva Demokratika –
The Green Party
www.arnoldcassola.com
harry.vassallo@alternattiva.org.mt
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