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12 ALFRED Sant hopes to extend his rollercoaster political career by serving as one of Malta's six MEPs. The thought of seeing the former prime minister address the Euro- pean Parliament might make some voters who remember his dogged resistance to EU membership wince. Most Labour loyalists will be enthralled. As I enter Sant's office in Birkirka- ra, I suddenly, and unexpectedly, find myself in an oasis of calm in the middle of the urban cacophony of Malta's largest town. The old townhouse, situated in a quaint backstreet just off the hectic Valley Road, is adorned with floor- to-ceiling bookshelves and a pretty garden where an Indo-Chinese pea- fowl roams around freely. I ask him how many books he owns, to which Sant – a prolific au- thor himself – tells me that he owns thousands of books which he con- siders as his own "children". Trying hard to shift my attention back to the interview, I start off on the wrong foot. Before tackling Eu- rope, I ask him what he thought of the revelations by his former adver- sary, Eddie Fenech Adami, on meet- ings the former PN leader had with Sant's old nemesis Dom Mintoff in 1997, a year before the former La- bour leader brought down Sant's government in 1998. "No comment," is Sant's terse re- ply. I attempt to make up for the bad start by asking whether he'll follow suit and write his own autobiogra- phy. "Maybe…why not? I had already started writing one some 10 years ago and I had published a book which goes all the way to 1975. But these kind of projects are normally written in the latter years of one's life and I'd rather believe that I have a few more years ahead of me," Sant says with a smile. For the first time in 27 years, the former Labour leader does not have a seat in Parliament. I wonder whether looking from the outside, he is seeing the party he once led drift to the right. "I have no problem with Labour's policies. They levelled similar accusations at me in the past when I was charged with being a rightist, so I know the ropes." However, does this endorsement extend to the controversial citizen- ship scheme? "The prime minis- ter himself has acknowledged that things could have been done dif- ferently. However, Parliament has decided and all the controversies in recent months were superfluous." The Individual Investor Pro- gramme will see wealthy foreign- ers obtain a Maltese passport for €650,000 the purchase of a €350,000 property; and a €150,000 invest- ment in bonds and stocks. Critics have lambasted the scheme, which government has claimed will reap up to €1 billion revenues which in turn will be invested in social and educational projects, as being un- sustainable and a neoliberal policy. But Sant, an economist by profes- sion, disagrees. He argues that pri- vate and public investment has been on the wane for over 20 years. "The problem with this country is that the rate of investment – both public and private – is weak, and as a result, whatever is said, we are wit- nessing a progressive deterioration in welfare services. Health is not free, education is not delivering enough and there are no funds to make up for these shortcomings." The Harvard graduate adds that successive PN governments installed a feel good factor "at all costs," and had a "money no problem" attitude which resulted in money going to "consumption instead of invest- ment". "We are now in a position where the country cannot refuse any kind of investment. As long as investment increases, it's immaterial whether it's going into the social sector, infra- structure or economic productivity. Following a brief interruption by the peafowl, which apparently gets agitated when strangers are around, we turn our attention to the forth- coming European Parliament elec- tions. Who would have thought that 11 years after leading a fierce anti-EU membership campaign, Sant would have contested European elections, standing a very good chance of be- coming the first former Maltese prime minister to serve in the Euro- pean Parliament. He explains that he was first asked to contest the European elections by his successor at the helm of the party, Joseph Muscat, five years ago. However he decided against throw- ing his hat into the ring for a number of reasons which are, however, no longer valid this time around. "Five years ago Joseph Muscat had asked me whether I was interested in contesting the 2009 European elections, but I had refused on three counts. Firstly, I had just recovered from cancer and I wasn't sure how long I would live. Secondly, I was an MP in the Maltese Parliament and once I had a mandate I wanted to complete it to the full. Thirdly, I erroneously thought that there wouldn't be any interesting develop- ments on a European level." However, now that he's overcome his illness and no longer holds a seat in Parliament in Valletta (while he also believes that interesting times do in fact lie ahead for both Malta and the rest of Europe), if the people elect him, Sant is convinced that he "can give his contribution". In 2003, Sant led a zealous cam- paign against Malta's EU accession and failed to recognise the referen- dum result, which gave a clear ver- dict in favour of EU membership. How has he now decided to vie for a seat in Brussels? Isn't it paradoxical? "There's absolutely no problem in this. Contrary to what some say, I have never been against the EU. I believe that I am among those who have studied and followed the EU's political social and cultural develop- ments the most, from the very begin- ning." Reminding me that his first job was a five-year stint at Malta's embassy in Brussels in 1970, the 66-year-old Sant explains that since then, he has followed the developments of Mal- ta's relationship with the EU and the union itself ardently. "When it came to deciding whether Malta should join the EU, we argued that the country would be accepting the EU's regulations lock, stock and barrel and we also argued that the disadvantages outweighed the ben- efits, and we had bound ourselves to respect the people's verdict in the general election. And that's what we did. There's no contradiction but it's an evolution of thought which is coherent with Malta's national inter- est." He adds that once Malta is a full member, the national interest now demands that the country makes the best out of membership. "I am offering my services at a Eu- ropean Parliament level, with the aim of doing my part in maximising the benefits and curtailing disad- vantages. Also, advantages should be shared by all, and not enjoyed by the elite alone while the rest of the country carries the weight of mem- bership on its shoulders." In recent weeks, Sant has em- barked on an intense campaign with a series of visits in Malta and Gozo and huge presence on conventional and new media platforms. What does it feel like going back to basics after more than 20 years? "The big- gest difference I have encountered in this campaign is that I'm not used to leading a personal campaign, be- cause I was previously spearheading the Labour Party's campaign. The last time a led a personal campaign was prior to the 1992 general elec- tion." As we start discussing the Euro- pean Union and where the bloc is heading, Sant ditches his trademark telegraphic answers and his knowl- edge and passion for the subject come to the fore. But does he consider himself as a Eurosceptic, and would he feel com- fortable in the 'Europeanist' Social- ist group? "I've always viewed this talk of eurosceptism as bogus. I consider myself as a eurorealist because byn the same measure, who argues for more Europe can be described as a eurofanatic. What's in a name after all? I consider myself as a realist be- cause you must look at the EU's in- ception. I view Europe as being dif- ferent from the continental realities that are China and the US, because it is a Europe of nations. You are Eu- ropean because you are a Bulgarian citizen and the other way round." He adds that for this reason Eu- rope lacks the mobility the US has and is facing growing economic and unemployment problems. "We have to depart from the fact that this is a Europe of nations. More Europe is not the solution because over the last two decades European unity got stronger but the same cannot be said of Europe's performance." This sense of realism is also evi- dent in Sant's refusal to look beyond 24 May, because as he puts it "it wouldn't be the first time that I've been stung in the past". Sant believes that Europe – es- pecially the eurozone – is on the wrong track in its attempts to re- gain flexibility. "Europe is carrying out an internal devaluation, cutting social services and employment conditions, under the great euphe- mism of 'increasing flexibility' in the labour market." He says that this model is not be- ing accepted by many countries, and is "fuelling anti-European and na- tionalist currents along the way". Describing these nationalist forc- es as dangerous, the former prime minister says that such factions on both sides of the political spectrum are reacting to how things are devel- oping in Europe. Mainstream parties, Sant says have allowed populist parties to gain ground by implementing poli- cies which have led to social decline in countries such as Greece and Portugal. "There is a need for a new realism which sets off from recog- nising nationalism in the positive Interview By Jurgen Balzan TRUE INDEPENDENCE I always believed that Malta could be self-reliant. I have never been impressed by talk of obtaining funds from here or from there POPULAR MISCONCEPTIONS Contrary to what some say, I have never been against the EU The 'eurorealist'