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10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 FEBRUARY 2019 NEWS ANALYSIS Embrace the change: Maltese society has changed considerably since 1989 when AD was founded The majority remains firmly against abortion but the debate is more nu- anced. It was inevitable that at this juncture a minority in the most his- torically liberal Maltese political party would raise this issue at least in soli- darity with feminists vilified by aggres- sive pro-life lobbies. Historically the abortion issue high- lighted the dissonance between AD's attempt to appeal to local mainstream voters and the party's international af- filiation with the more radical Euro- pean greens. The manifesto of the Eu- ropean Greens for 2019 clearly states that "the right to abortion" should "be included in the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights" and the Greens want to "guarantee free and accessi- ble, good-quality and safe sexual and reproductive healthcare and services for all, including abortion". On its part on every occasion AD has consistently voted against the inclusion of repro- ductive rights in the European Green's manifesto and most of its founders genuinely opposed the legalisation of abortion. Yet through its history the party also included in its ranks activ- ists with pro-choice views in the safe comfort that internal debate on this is- sue was stalled simply because nobody of stature was raising this issue locally. The understanding was that this was a 'no-go issue' in a country faced with more pressing issues like corruption, the environment, divorce and more re- cently, gay rights. Cassola's own quasi- successful bid for MEP in 2004 was triggered by his strong rebuttal of the PN's claim that AD was a pro-choice party. That was also the last occasion where AD served as a substantial park- ing space for disgruntled and pale blue PN voters. But the liberalisation of social mores over the past decade and the emergence of a respectable femi- nist organisation finally taking a pro- choice stance, meant that the elephant in AD's room had grown in size. It was inevitable that the issue would resur- face in a new political context where pro-choice views gained new legitima- cy. This happened through a very mild call for 'respectful discussion' by MEP candidate Mina Tolu which was met by Cassola's ultimatum on the party to disassociate itself from the views of the young candidate, the refusal of which led to the Green stalwart's resignation. Act less like a party and more as a movement Cassola's reaction to Tolu's call for debate on abortion contrasts with the growing trend which sees political parties transforming themselves into movements which can contain dif- ferent nuances on some issues while agreeing on others. That a Green party fields a candidate who wants a debate on abortion should not come as a surprise for anyone, least of all Cassola who has worked along pro-choice politicians at a European level. Despite being against the legali- sation of abortion in Malta and making it clear that he would never speak on behalf of the Greens on this issue, Cas- sola was still elected general secretary of a political family. In this sense the Greens, whose platform was and still is clearly pro-choice, still accepted Cas- sola in their ranks. Ironically Cassola is not willing to share the same platform with a candidate who is simply calling for a "respectful debate" on this issue. Big successful parties like Labour in Malta are jettisoning the straight jack- et of party structures in favour of more open big tent politics. Even the PN had harboured Salvu Mallia, who declared his pro-choice views before the 2017 election. And although there is no of- ficial debate on abortion in Labour it is an open secret that many young party activists have nuanced views on this topic. The idea of the party as an ideological closed shop is on the way out. While small parties can afford to present themselves as more principled than big parties, they cannot afford to present themselves as inward look- ing, tribal and stuffy. In this case Mina Tolu's call for a respectful debate on abortion could well have been a mark of distinction from the other parties who shy away from open debate on this issue. It also helps distinguish the Greens from the PD whose founders were even opposed to the introduction of emergency contraception. The party's brand is well past its expiry date. It's time for a complete new branding AD is no longer the new kid on the block. For anyone born after 1974, AD has been a fixture on the ballot sheet in every general election. Moreover, with a few exceptions the brand is more associated with failures than success. It fails to fire the imagination of younger people. In a more socially liberal country facing a building frenzy and increased social inequalities, one would expect the greens to be making some inroads. But this is not happen- ing partly because AD is seen as a relic of a past age. AD has a legacy it can be proud of, having been the first party to put the environment on the political agenda and the first to propose legis- lation on divorce, gay marriages and party financing among many other themes. Yet by persisting on its tried and tested approach and re-proposing the same old faces, it may well have be- come a liability for the emergence of a new wave of progressive third party politics. Time to reach out The party did not have the genera- tional renewal it needed especially after Briguglio's abrupt departure fol- lowing its best general election result in 2013. The writing has been on the wall for some years. In the absence of genera- tional renewal the party is bound to die a long slow death. AD leader Car- mel Cacopardo has recognised this problem and has declared that his aim is to promote a new generation of activists. In fact, the party is field- ing relatively new candidates in local elections in Mellieha and Marsaskala as well as in MEP elections by present- ing the candidature of Mina Tolu, an LGBTIQ and anti-hunting activist, as a candidate for MEP elections. Yet the decision to field veterans Cassola and Cacopardo together on one ticket perpetuated the impression that the party was dominated by a generation which refuses to let go. This raises the question; from where can AD get its new recruits? For a principled pro- gressive party offering little prospect of career advancement in the shape of political appointments, the pool of potential recruits is limited to activ- ists who see politics as a way to bring about change. These include militants in radical organisations like Graffitti and like-minded progressive NGOs. In fact, most of the party's new recruits after 2000 hailed from Graffitti. One major dilemma for the present-day crop of activists in groups like Graf- fitti and Kamp Emergenza Ambjent is that as much as they would like to see an electoral alternative to the two After Cassola's hara-kiri, eight ways to re-invent a moribund party Beyond the abortion row, Cassola's resignation from AD marks the end of an epoch for the small, progressive and persistent party which was, however, drifting into irrelevance, and failing to attract a new generation of radical activists to take the place of party stalwarts. JAMES DEBONO asks: How can the Greens re-invent themselves? JAMES DEBONO