In a recent interview I was asked whether AD is just a ‘protest party’, therefore, just around to garner and benefit from all those disgruntled voters that decide to pen their disagreements to our favour.
It would be foolish not to be happy with protest votes, but the greens are in for the real game. The Greens, not only on a European level but also locally, have been the precursors of great changes – the environmental agenda, sustainable development, clean air, clean energy initiatives, patent-free software and countless others amongst others.
A vote for the greens, in the Maltese context that is, is not just a protest vote. Voting for both the undersigned and for Yvonne Arqueros Ebejer will give Malta a chance to be more influential, more well-represented and, thus, more effective in the European Parliament and the EU at large. A vote for Alternattiva Demokratika would be of benefit for the country. Here is why.
A Maltese Green MEP will:
1) Become a de facto member of the Greens – the fifth biggest group in the European Parliament – thus giving our country a much needed third voice and more influence in the EP. So far Malta has been represented only in two groups. With a green MEP, that goes to three. An increase of 33% representation.
2) Push a Green New Deal in Europe and Malta. The Green New Deal will help to create around 5 million jobs in the EU at large by focusing the investments on Clean Energy – like solar, geo-thermal, wind and others. In turn, these investments will have a wider impact on the economy by creating more jobs, such as: technicians specializing in these new technologies; agronomists, engineers, architects, lecturers and trainers; consultants; researchers, and more. Thus, whilst being essential for Malta and indeed Europe, to combat climate change, this Green New Deal will augment the life-line of governments, reinforcing them against the global economic crisis by shifting from an economy based on fossil fuels to a cleaner and more environmentally friendly one.
3) Contribute to breaking the duopoly long persisting on the Maltese political scene. A third voice elected to the European Parliament from the third party – AD – will help break away from the political dualism that has characterised local politics for the last forty-odd years.
Fundamentally it’s all about hope. In days the electorate will elect the six people, yes, six, that will represent our country in the EP. We need people of courage, of experience, integrity, credibility and consistency. And we need them to be part of more groups than the two currently in place. There is a third group, the Green group – which the AD candidate will, if elected, join – read ‘influence’ – for the benefit of us all.
The time is right. On June 6th Think Big and Vote Green. This is not a dream. It is something that together we can indeed achieve. So let us go for it. Yes we can!
Arnold Cassola is AD chairperson and candidate for MEP
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