Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544987
MOMENTUM marked its first an- niversary this year, and with Mal- ta's general election just two weeks away, its chairperson, Arnold Cas- sola, is in no mood to slow down. The party was the brainchild of the veteran politician, who sought to build on the success of his per- sonal 2024 European Parliament campaign and offer Maltese voters something the two major parties could not. From 14 people who initial- ly came together to organise the party, Momentum now counts over 100 members and is contest- ing its first general election. For Cassola, that alone is proof that the party is moving in the right direction. I meet Cassola ahead of a busy evening; his team is heading out to put up banners across several localities, a group of 30 people, seven of them women. He is re- laxed and sharp, and when I raise the surveys, he is characteristical- ly unfazed. "In these past 15 months, the momentum has grown. Members have now passed 100. During this campaign, we have around 40 people helping us," he says. "If you compare now to three years ago, the third parties were getting around 2% between them. Today, they are getting almost 6%. Is that not already progress?" But Cassola is also quick to warn against taking the polls at face value. They may not always be re- cording what people truly feel, he suggests. "The polls are important; they give an indication. But don't for- get that there is a lot of fear. Here in Malta, people don't always tell you the truth," he says. On policy, Cassola is eager to push back against the perception that Momentum is a single-issue party focused only on governance and the environment. The party's manifesto contains 260 measures, he insists, including a proposed flat tax rate of 15% for returning Maltese graduates, a gradual re- duction of corporate tax for Mal- tese businesses to level the play- ing field with foreign companies, and a new tax on vacant property speculation. Arnold Cassola: 'Momentum is there to defend the citizen' Momentum marks its first year, and despite surveys showing the party still trails far behind the major parties, its chairperson, Arnold Cassola, remains convinced it is on the right track. He tells Juliana Zammit how he intends to shake up the country's political landscape ahead of the general election. 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 MAY 2026 INTERVIEW