At just 17, Nina Skye Briffa has decided to contest for the Qrendi local council election, representing the Nationalist Party. Despite having a foreign mother who cannot vote and no family member who is involved directly in politics, the teenager is throwing her hat into the political arena with the aim of winning a seat on the council, which maybe could be the start of her climb.

Interviewed by The Malta Independent on Sunday, Briffa said that she chose the PN because she felt at home.

She said she has been attending PN activities since the age of 13. She has other commitments, such as playing basketball, but her friends encouraged her to participate in political party events, where she said she felt extremely welcomed.

Her journey into politics began when she was approached by PN MP Eve Borg Bonello and Team Start President Jordan Galea Pace to join the PN's youth team. Her activism within the party increased as, in spite of still being 15 years old, she was now helping the party to prepare for the 2022 general elections.

After being elected as the president of Team Start, she was also encouraged to contest for the local council election. She regarded it as a significant step, because she had just finished her O-levels, but she said that it was something she felt she needed to do. Briffa said that it it made sense, because she is always encouraging those around her to get involved in politics. She had to take the plunge too.

 

Briffa said that she does not think of these elections is terms of being a stepping stone, as she believes her main target is to help people in her community. She said that when it comes to having a political career, she considers Team Start as being her first step in the political field. But she does not exclude a political career in the long term. She said that in this aspect, one can use the local council elections to know where they stand and whether they like being in the heart of politics.

It will be the first time that people aged 16 and 17 will have the chance to become mayor and, as expected, she sees nothing wrong that people so young could take on such a responsibility.

Personally she said that if people want a youth as their mayor they will vote for them. She said that despite knowing that she would have a bigger workload, if elected as mayor she believes that she can manage to do that plus continuing with her education.

 

"Someone in politics, with a local council's workload is like someone who is a student athlete who balances between training and school," the aspiring lawyer said.

 

Briffa said that she has already experienced what it means to have people depending on you. Being president of Team Start and helping PN candidates prepare for their elections was one way through which she was being of service to others.

Asked whether she would renounce her position if she were to become mayor, she said that the Nationalist Party is likely to be in minority in Qrendi, so the chances are minimal. She said that for this very reason she hasn’t been thinking much about it, but if she is elected as mayor "it will be because people think i can do it". The aim, after all, is for the PN to obtain a majority in this locality.

Briffa said that the number one thing on her agenda is for better control of development and for better planning.

“I believe that right now every locality is experiencing an increase in buildings, and increase in population. However in a locality like Qrendi where there is a culture of a town there needs to be a specific plan, where building ideas complement the surrounding locality,” she said. Briffa said that although development has been on the rise in Qrendi, the situation is not the same as in neighbouring town such as Imqabba.

But it is better to plan ahead rather than try to mitigate the problems once the situation starts to get worse, she said.
The aspiring candidate also wants for residents to achieve a higher standard of living.

"We (the PN candidates for the upcoming local council elections) have in mind to open a night shelter for the elderly so that they can continue living within the community rather than leave it," she said.

She said that although nothing is finalised, the candidates have already started discussions on this project. This would benefit the elderly, who would not be alone at night while at the same time staying in an environment they know. The plan is to also include specific professionals who ensure that the elderly are properly taken care of.

She said that even if not elected, she would still continue working closely with the local council for the benefit of all the community.

Briffa said that she has always been an outspoken person, even when she was part of school committees. She said she always had some ideas to contribute.

The teenager said that her family was happy when she first broke the news that she was going to contest the election, but were concerned with how she was going to manage to balance school with being politically active.

However as time progressed she showed them she was capable of managing her time very well, as during her O-levels examinations she was also very active within the PN's Team Start. She said that they were also happy when she announced that she was going to contest the Qrendi local council elections, with her father also actively helping her in her campaign.

Given she has nobody in her family politically involved within any party, Briffa was also asked why she chose the PN. The teenager said that this party was the one that aligns with her values. As a prime example of this, she mentioned how it was the PN which was pushing for a public inquiry to investigate what led to the death of Jean Paul Sofia, whilst the government was resisting the idea.

"Jean Paul and his mother deserve justice," she said.

“I believe that (PN Leader Bernard) Grech is doing a lot of good work. He is a capable politician,” she said.