Politicians often fall into the perennial trap where they either end up riding the wave of consumerism to extreme, or else seek to act “statesmanlike” by way of concentrating solely on the national aspect of politics. It is easy to fall into that trap as both avenues offer ample exposure and personal satisfaction.

But you can beat the trap and make sure your political work has a dual function – that of being of service to both the citizen and the nation at the same time. I have always thought that the politician who manages to achieve this is in a better position to assess the needs of both. Citizens are our clients; the nation is our society as a whole. One can neither separate nor distinguish one from the other. You and the nation go together.

It is indeed a tight rope to walk, but one that an MEP especially is expected to master if he really believes in the work and the responsibilities the voters entrust him with in an election. It is a lesson I have learned and keenly sought to put to good use in the past two-and-a-half years, and towards the end I was also entrusted with leading the Labour delegation at the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.

Winding up my work at the EP as the legislature came to an end, may have delayed my entry into the EP elections’ local circuit, but I do not regret it. Unfinished business is certainly not in my repertoire, for I know that the MEP’s work is closely related to the needs of the citizen. When I successfully took up Malta’s cause at the EP over the issues of irregular immigration and the individual investor programme, I knew that at the same time I was conveying the Maltese people’s grave concerns. In the first case with regard to the economic and demographic problems being created, and in the second in connection with the support for a highly innovative investment programme that could hugely benefit both the citizen and the nation.

So it’s now back to an election campaign during which I will continue to deliver the message of support to all working families in Malta and Gozo as Europe hopefully takes a new ideological turn in its modern-day history. Malta and some other member states have been spearheading this new move away from the stifling austerity imposed by conservative and right-wing governments on the continent, which has resulted in shocking unemployment statistics and an economic crisis of horrendous dimensions.

The local scenario is going down an interesting road on its way to polling day. On one hand we have the Labour Party rightly basking in the positive light of its achievements of the past year since coming to power, while on the other there is the Nationalist Party led by a hapless Simon Busuttil who seems to believe that the Maltese have such a very short memory that they can now quickly swallow the bait attached to the slogan of “a better Malta”!

Euro elections are always a source of much voter disgruntlement, but just over a year on from Labour’s return to power after 25 years in isolation, the notion does not make sense. Political consumerism is a reality we as politicians have to expect, but when it is exploited or, worse, tainted by an Opposition that has seen the carpet pulled from under its feet, it turns into a parody.

Of course there are Labour supporters and voters that voted Labour in March 2013 who feel they may have not seen their expectations, particularly grievances, addressed. It is because I know that they eventually will be that moves me to show my support and my understanding to them. I have been there for them before; I will be there for them again.

The Labour government of Joseph Muscat is exceptionally keen on keeping its promises, as it has already shown during the past 14 months. My renewed commitment as an MEP would be to ensure that this positive trend continues at both individual and national level.

 

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Joseph Cuschieri was Head of the Labour delegation in the European Parliament