Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1521306
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 MAY 2024 6 INTERVIEW David Agius: 'PN must focus on what Europe means for Malta' DAVID Agius believes the Nationalist Par- ty should not forget what the European Union means for Malta when calling out government misdeeds during the election campaign. "I think the PN has to focus more on what Eu- rope means for Malta, without ignoring what is going on in the country," Agius tells me when I ask whether the PN is repeating past mistakes by focussing its election campaign on corruption and government wrongdoing. The deputy Speaker and Nationalist MP is also a candidate for the 8 June European Parliament election. Agius insists the national debate related to the findings from the Vitals inquiry, and subsequent charges against former top government officials should not be ignored but he concedes the PN could do better in reminding people on the bene- fits that came with EU accession. "Despite Muscat being charged, the pensioner who has problems with his pension, will continue to experience that problem; the traffic problem will stay there; unfulfilled promises over the metro will remain unfulfilled. These problems will not be solved because Joseph Muscat and others will be charged over corruption," he says. "What is more worrying for me is that we are not seeing a political debate on Europe. I am not seeing political debate on local councils. We have had to revert to nation- al issues, because what is happening is unprece- dented." Agius plays down the significance of high voter abstention among young people and says it's the result of becoming used to living as an EU citizen. "A lot of young people do not know what it means to live in a country outside the EU. Most of them lived their life in a European country," he says. "When I was young, to get a television you needed a minister's blessing. The mentality that you need the politician to get something in life is declining." On whether he feels his candidature for the MEP elections is threatened by independent candidates, Agius insists working within the structures of an established party leads to more impactful change at a political and national level. He is evasive when I ask whether a bad result in the MEP elections should result in Bernard Grech stepping down from leader. "I think the PN will elect a third MEP. It is not a question of failure or not, I think we have a united party, and the people recognise this," he says. Former PN deputy leader David Agius has served under all party leaders since Eddie Fenech Adami. The PN MP is now seeking the electorate's support as he vies for a seat in the European Parliament. He sits down with KARL AZZOPARDI to share his thoughts on the election campaign, Bernard Grech's future and voters' everyday concerns What is more worrying for me is that we are not seeing a political debate on Europe. I am not seeing political debate on local councils. We have had to revert to national issues, because what is happening is unprecedented.