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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 JUNE 2023 NEWS ANALYSIS 5. Gauci still lacks gravitas Sandra Gauci who until some time ago was mainly known for her 'satirical' ABS vlog, comes across as a good debater and an approachable person, but still lacks the kind of gravitas expect- ed from a political party leader. Modern politics is based on in- stagrammable images revolving around smart leaders who pro- ject likeability and exude confi- dence in their competence and convictions. Even comedians like Zelensky and Beppe Grillo have succeeded but only thanks to a good pr machine. ADPD must think out of the box, avoid pointless rituals like regular Sat- urday morning press conferences which only serve to amplify the idiosyncrasies of party spokes- persons and focus on reaching out to communities, and crucially avoid the image of being a voice in the desert. But to get there, AD needs its own army of crea- tive campaigners inspired by a vision which they can also sell to others both in person and online. But it falls on the party leader to incarnate this vision. Wenzu Mintoff (1989-1998) Expelled from the Labour Party in 1989 after denouncing the corrupt and violent elements which had hijacked it, the 30-year- old socialist idealist, found himself leading a motley crew of environmentalists and hu- man rights activists whom he represented in parliament. His collegial style of leadership in a party dominated by strong and charis- matic personalities like Joe (Peppi) Azzo- pardi, Toni Abela (also expelled from the Labour Party alongside Mintoff) and Saviour Balzan enabled AD to jolt the system in the 1992 general election. The party won 4,200 votes (1.7%) nationwide, a success followed by the election of several local councillors in the next years. But following internal trou- bles and defections, the party disappointed in subsequent elections in 1996 and 1998 when its support contracted. Subsequently Mintoff returned to the Labour fold, contest- ing as an MEP, and was appointed judge by the Muscat administration. True to his roots, Mintoff is leaving a legacy in landmark judg- ments in which he showed government no fear or favour. Harry Vassallo (1998-2008) The charismatic, bold but sometimes quirky Harry Vassallo re-energised the party, opening it up to a new influx of activists and aligning it to the pro-EU membership camp, thus gaining visibility as a strong non-Na- tionalist voice in the IVA campaign. But the party's appeal for vote transfers from the PN in the 2003 electoral campaign was sol- emnly rebuked by Eddie Fenech Adami on the eve of the election in which AD fell be- low the 1% mark. Yet banking on a reserve of good will among floaters and pale blue voters, the party scored its best electoral re- sult in the first MEP elections in 2004 when Arnold Cassola garnered more than 20,000 votes. Subsequently the party invested most of its energies in campaigning for a referen- dum on rent reform which failed to capture the public's imagination. Vassallo resigned after failing to make any inroads in the 2008 general election, albeit with the satisfaction of denying an absolute majority for the sec- ond Gonzi administration. Arnold Cassola (2008-2009) Arnold Cassola came close to being elected an MEP with 23,000 first count votes in MEP elections held in 2004. After a short stint as a left-wing MP in Romano Prodi's coalition in neighbouring Italy, Arnold Cassola, came back to lead the party in the hope of repeat- ing his 2004 success. Instead, the party only managed 5,802 votes in the 2009 European Parliament election in a bitter disappoint- ment which saw Cassola resigning. Michael Briguglio (2009-2013) Briguglio a sociologist who in his younger days had co-founded Moviment Graffit- ti, was the first AD leader not to hail from the generation of co-founders in 1989. As leader he came across as a smart and effective com- municator, earning favourable ratings for his strong performance in debates with Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat. He al- so pushed AD's boundaries on themes like full marriage equality capturing the public mood after the divorce referendum. Yet, de- spite achieving AD's best result in a general election when the party obtained 5,506 votes in 2013, Briguglio resigned immediately af- terwards, leaving the party orphaned and with no succession plan. He unsuccessfully contested the European Parliament election with the PN in 2019. Arnold Cassola (2013-2017) Re-electing Cassola who had already served as leader in 2008, was a fall-back position which amplified the party's failure to at- tract a new generation of potential leaders. Moreover, Cassola's second term as chair- person coincided with a heightened polari- sation which left little room for AD to wiggle. AD also had to face competition from the Democratic Party whose candidates were fielded in the PN's list as part of the Forza Nazzjonali coalition. This formula did earn two seats for the PD but did not stop Labour from thrashing the opposition in an election which also saw AD gaining an abysmal result (2,564 votes). Carmel Cacopardo (2017-2023) Carmel Cacopardo was the obvious fall back in terms of political experience after the 2017 election. An architect by profession he lacked charisma. The former PN candidate and president had stood up against the ar- rogance of Lorry Sant in the 1980s, breaking ranks with the PN over the environmental policies of the Gonzi administration. Caco- pardo presented himself as an interim leader whose focus was to prepare a new genera- tion of leaders. Despite his lacklustre per- formance in debates, Cacopardo still man- aged to double the party's vote share from a miserable 0.8% in 2017 to 1.6%, (4,747 votes) in 2022, leaving AD exactly where it was 33 years before. Who were AD's past leaders? Gauci's obstacle race