Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489031
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 DECEMBER 2022 8 INTERVIEW What they said ... Marceline Naudi Senior lecturer, University of Malta Faculty of Social Well-being 9 January Violence against women is, in fact, a continuum. It starts with: 'Aw, gisem!'… and, at the other end of the spectrum, it ends in femicide. Aleksander Dimitrijevic 'Men Against Violence' NGO 14 February Violence against women is not 'sexy', as a political issue. It's not something that any politician can suddenly step up and say: 'Look: these are our re- sults; this is what we have achieved, over the past five years…' Bernard Grech PN leader 20 March We cannot be pro-life when we know people are committing an abortion. To me that's bigotry. I want to see how I can help, to re- duce that incidence. Eve Borg Bonello PN MP 24 April We could, at least, do what is within our capabilities to do. Take the Cli- mate Change targets, for instance: ours are actually the lowest, in all of Europe's. Why is it so impossible for us to ever reach them? Jason Azzopardi PN MP, shadow minister for justice 16 January I have both my feet planted firmly in the ground; I do my house visits, and I know what people out there are really saying…. so please: it's not such a foregone conclusion, that La- bour will win the next election... Arnold Cassola Independent candidate 20 February If the government needed cross-party support, on something that I feel deserves support… I would be happy to help; so long as the Cabinet is made up of clean, honest people. Dr Stephanie Fabri Economist 27 March It's not just about having degrees, or diplomas; it's also about understand- ing that we really have to adapt to the new economic realities of today's – and even more so, tomorrow's – world. Evarist Bartolo Former foreign minister 1 May If we are to honestly commemorate Labour Day, we need to also talk about the realities of today's working conditions: that, for instance, there are people on definite contracts, who have problems to make ends meet. Mariella Dimech Executive chairperson, Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis 23 January While the policies we enact may change over time… the basic objec- tive has always remained the same. We are still trying to protect people, from the dangers of substance abuse. Carmel Cacopardo ADPD chairperson 27 February ere are some fundamental issues that, to us, are too important to change and there are other, less im- portant issues on which we would be willing to compromise. Prof. Mario Thomas Vassallo Department of Public Policy, UOM 3 April Politics is all about debating; it's all about thinking, and making sense of the chaos of the world around us; and we have to start teaching those skills, too. Dr Natalie Psaila 'Doctors For Choice' NGO 8 May Abortion today has become much more 'accepted', as a mainstream topic for political debate. It is clear- ly no longer the taboo it used to be, just a few years ago. Mark Sultana BirdLife Malta CEO 30 January Nature is, at the end of the day, an indicator of our own health. We need nature, as much as nature needs us… Daniel Micallef PN deputy leader 6 March If our appeal is to support the La- bour Party, it is because we firmly believe in our own message; we be- lieve in our vision for the country; and we will remain with our feet on the ground, whatever the polls say. Adrian Delia PN MP, former leader 10 April e Nationalist Party does need to examine its conscience slightly more. Because it did not just 'lose' this elec- tion; it was defeated, it in a way that we haven't actually seen since 1955. Roberta Metsola European Parliament President 15 May As things stand, we have far too many laws that have been in 'the freezer' (so to speak) for far too long… because there isn't the politi- cal will to implement them… Charlie Cauchi Multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker 6 February It's great that we service films. It's amazing, in fact. But when it comes to our own film-making; that is where it has always been lacking. David Agius PN deputy leader 13 March Now that the country is once again facing the possibility of another crisis: who do you trust more, to weather it? We have so much credi- bility, in this sector, that people will look to the Nationalist Party. Fr Jimmy Bonnici Rector, Archbishop's Seminary, Rabat 17 April For me, 'getting stuck in the past' also means remaining with the mindset that everyone out there 'should be Christian'. If we stick with that, as our premise, clearly, we would be starting from the wrong place. Paul Pace MUMN President 23 May It is pointless for doctors to keep issuing Level-1 supervision orders: when we all know (including the doctors themselves) that there sim- ply aren't enough nurses to actually carry them out.