Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1107757
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 APRIL 2019 Friggieri, who enjoys respect across the political spectrum, which may help Cassola widen his appeal beyond the restrict- ed constituency of PN-leaning voters. Although Cassola has, so far, not left a mark on the polls, his experience as a seasoned cam- paigner with the gift of the gab cannot be underestimated. Yet circumstances are entirely dif- ferent than in 2004 where Cas- sola's pitch for the pale blue voter may well have been the prelude to the historic shift of thousands of PN voters to La- bour in 2013. Nor can one exclude that a small number of ex-PN voters frustrated by the party's fail- ures under both Busuttil and Delia, would shift directly to Labour, which has become so similar to the PN they knew in its more glorious years. This may well be a third, more con- tained but possibly more lethal exodus from the PN. Also competing for the pale blue vote are PN candidates like Peter Agius, Roselyn Borg Knight and former AD politi- cian Michael Briguglio, who are trying to carve their own niche in a crowded field, bas- ing their appeal on their own personal history or profes- sional experience, in a bid to stand above the deep division between the Delia and anti- Delia camp. No short-cuts for the Greens Thinking long term, the Greens have refrained from joining the scramble for the PN vote, ditching their past strategy of serving as a parking space for disgruntled Nation- alists and focusing on localised environmental and social is- sues in an attempt to carve a niche for left-oriented voters disillusioned by the Muscat government. Carmel Cacopardo's dual candidature in both MEP elec- tions and local elections for the St Julian's council suggests that the party is giving primary importance to local elections in these mid-term elections. In these elections the party is fielding nine local council can- didates, that include a mixture of young professionals and ac- tivists, and party stalwarts. Although the PD is also fielding local candidates, con- trary to AD, it has been more focused on MEP elections. While the Greens may not be taking any short-cuts in scrambling for voters whose support is at best temporary, they may well be investing in a future where green issues and land use issues are becom- ing more pressing. It is here that a gap has been created on Labour's left due to Muscat's shift to pro-business policies, which have had a drastic im- pact on residents living in construction sites. This may be the space to watch in the next decade. Although the prospect of success in MEP elections looks dim for the greens, the party's performance in local election may be indicative of whether the Greens can live on to fight for anoth- er day. NEWS EUROPEAN ELECTIONS Darlings from 'that' PN faction: from right, David Casa and Roberta Metsola; left, Francis Zammit Dimech THE new Maltese members of the Eu- ropean Parliament elected next May will be returning to a parliament in which they might not have the full translation services for the Maltese language. In March, the European Parliament adopted by 433 votes to 209, with 20 abstentions, a decision to extend Rule 159 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, which allows a derogation from the ob- ligation to provide interpretation in all official EU languages. Rule 158 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure provides for the right of all MEPs to speak and use any official lan- guage of the EU, which accords all 24 official languages equal rights. That includes that the EP's documents are to be drawn up in the official languag- es, and for all MEPs to have the right to speak in Parlia- ment in the official language of their choice, with inter- pretation being pro- vided into the other official languages. However, under Rule 159, derogations from Rule 158 are permissible when lin- guists required for an official language are not available in sufficient numbers. "Despite considerable progress to improve the situation, the number of qualified translators is still expected to be so limited as regards Irish that, for the foreseeable future, full coverage of that language under Rule 158 cannot be assured," the European Parliament said on the vote, which extends Rule 159 for the new parliamentary term. But Croatian MEP Suica Dubravka (EPP) has demanded the European Commission to explain what it is doing to ensure equal rights for all languages within theEU. "The explanation for [the extension of Rule 159] is that capacity in Croa- tian, Irish and Maltese is not expected to be such as to allow a full interpreta- tion service in those languages from the beginning of the ninth parliamentary term. This puts the Croatian language in an inferior position to the other of- ficial languages of theEU," she told the EC. "The fundamental principles of the European Union state that EU citizens have the right to ob- tain information about the EU's activi- ties in a language that they can understand and have the possi- bility of participating in the EU's legisla- tive process. Further- more, the TFEU pro- hibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality, and therefore also on the grounds of language." Another Croatian MEP, Ruza Tomasic (ECR), has protested the decision, given that Croatian is the only national lan- guage of Croatians. "The extension of Article 159 of the Rules of Procedure means a further post- ponement of the full application of Croa- tian, Irish and Maltese language, with the explanation that even at the beginning of the next convocation of Parliament there will be no capacities to provide full translation services. So how many cen- turies are necessary to ensure these ca- pacities? Unlike Ireland and Malta, the Republic of Croatia has one official lan- guage, Croatian," she said. No guarantee of full Maltese translation for new MEPs Reactions from Maltese MEPs to interpretation issues tend to start with 'what the heck...' Although Cassola has, so far, not left a mark on the polls, his experience as a seasoned campaigner with the gift of the gab cannot be underestimated The latest polls and trust barometers for the 2019 European elections can be found online www.maltatoday.com.mt/europe2019 mt