Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526919
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 SEPTEMBER 2024 4 INTERVIEW Alex Agius Saliba: 'Narrative of 'prosit ministru' will not convince lukewarm voters' A growing cohort of disenchanted and disinterested voters is turning its back on politics, a situation that risks mak- ing the two mainstream parties irrele- vant. The last general election saw around 60,000 people stay at home or cancel their vote with even more doing like- wise in last June's European election. The increasing sense of despond- ency worries Alex Agius Saliba, who has just been elected Labour Party deputy leader for party affairs. And the antidote he prescribes to this phenomenon is openness and inter- nal critical debate. I interview him on the third floor of the PL headquarters in Hamrun, a place he wants to turn into a hive of activity where grassroots activists and non-traditional Labour voters who would like to contribute can mingle and discuss ideas. Agius Saliba warns the party risks irrelevance if it does not try and un- derstand voters who have shunned the mainstream parties. "These are people who may have different prior- ities to ours, or are not listening to us because the traditional political bickering turns them off, or are feel- ing that their concerns are not being addressed," he tells me. Agius Saliba says he would like to see a vibrant Labour Party that dis- cusses issues and can also be a criti- cal voice of government. When I bring up the abortion issue, Agius Saliba says he will not impose his anti-abortion views on the party and encourages internal debate on the matter. However, while agreeing with the abortion amendment approved last year and the government's original abortion proposal to safeguard wom- en's health and life, Agius Saliba is critical of the manner by which the change was presented. It was ill- timed, coming just a few weeks be- fore Christmas and without a prior information campaign, he says. Another instance of bad timing ac- cording to the MEP was the conclu- sion of the Vitals inquiry this year. He argues the magistrate's decision to conclude the inquiry on the day the electoral campaign started was intended to politically harm the PL. "It was not a coincidence," he in- sists, adding that he will not com- ment on the merits of the corruption case against former prime minister Joseph Muscat. Alex Agius Saliba was confirmed Labour Party deputy leader party affairs with an overwhelming vote of confidence. He speaks to Kurt Sansone on his priorities for the party and how he intends to juggle his new role with being an MEP.