Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/878567
12 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2017 JAMES DEBONO IN a political landscape dominated by more charismatic and messian- ic figures, the 62-year-old Carmel Cacopardo stands out as a scruffi- er character with a reputation for zealous rectitude – his bushy eye- brows symbolic of his disdain for image. A folk hero in the 1980s for tak- ing a stand against Labour min- ister Lorry Sant's antics, he was fired from the Works Department for his articles in the PN's daily, a dismissal which a court found was in breach of the law. Between 1990 and 1997 he occupied vari- ous posts in the PN, as informa- tion secretary, and then deputy secretary general to Austin Gatt and finally president of the party's administrative council. But he failed to leave a distinc- tive mark. He fought his battles in- ternally at a time when he did not question in public the PN's track record on governance and envi- ronmental issues. He unsuccessfully contested the 1987, 1992 and 1996 elections on behalf of the PN, and then sup- ported John Dalli's bid for the PN leadership. He returned to the limelight as a civil servant known for his zeal in tormenting Planning Author- ity officials as investigation officer for the planning ombudsman Joe Falzon. He earned the enmity of a former political ally, environment minister George Pullicino, with whom he had worked closely in the PN's youth movement, which Cacopardo led for some time. The bad blood and Lawrence Gonzi's refusal to even pen a foreword for a book he was writing on eco taxa- tion, may have been a major factor in Cacopardo's decision to join the Greens. He resigned from the PN in Janu- ary 2008, citing the way he was treated for investigating abuse in the PA while others were rewarded for wrongdoing. When he joined Alternattiva Demokratika in 2008, his PN past was a distant memory. Fitting in AD's strait jacket Cacopardo will be the first AD leader to have been schooled in the Nationalist Party's stable: AD's first leader, Wenzu Mintoff, hailed from Labour, but Harry Vassal- lo, Arnold Cassola and Michael Briguglio hailed from civil society NGOs. Yet his stance on issues dear to the greens, such as gay mar- riage, was at best reluctant, having pushed for a more moderate line before the 2013 election which put him at odds with Briguglio, who pushed AD to adopt more radical positions. Gay marriage is now history, and Labour is pushing new frontiers on drug liberalisation and IVF, which means AD has little space to pro- ject itself as the liberal choice. Even civil society and to some extent the PN has moved in AD's good gov- ernance and environmental terri- tory. Cacopardo seems to have recog- nised the limited space AD has for manouver arguing that the time is ripe for a discussion on abortion, a stance which also serves to distin- guish AD from the more conserva- tive PD. In many ways Cacopardo will have to convince voters that AD is not only more authentic but also more effective in pushing its agen- da forward. Voters are not only in- terested in which party is the pur- est, but also in who is best placed to bring about concrete changes. And in this AD is not just com- peting with other political parties but also with civil society move- ments who are able to bring about News Cacopardo and the Greens: Will Carmel Cacopardo's distinctive style compensate for an obvious lack of charisma and power to inspire, and what does his elevation to party leader say about the party's ability to regenerate itself? MALTA'S GREEN PARTY AND ITS NEW LEADERSHIP GENERATIONS OF LEADERS Small is beautiful: the Green Party takes shape with Wenzu Mintoff, the former Labour whip, taking the party's helm in 1989, with Toni Abela, also then having left Labour, by his side. Abela rejoined Labour and became deputy leader. Both Mintoff and Abela are today judges. CENTRE: Harry Vassallo is flanked by Carmel Cacopardo, in 2008 having just joined AD; RIGHT: A new generation cut short, with Michael Briguglio taking the party to their highest ever vote share in 2013, before resigning and paving the way for Arnold Cassola to once again take the party chairmanship