Who is Anton Tabone?

I am 36 years old and my profession is that of a lawyer. I used to work in the Maltese diplomatic service as a diplomat and today I am a councillor at the Victoria local council. I also have my legal office in Gozo where I practice law. I come from a family which has been heavily involved in politics for many generations and for me politics is the forum where you serve and contribute to the advancement of the country. Although I hail from Gozo, I studied in Malta at De La Salle College, St Aloysius College and the University of Malta, thus I am lucky to have experienced both types of Maltese life in Malta and in Gozo.

Do you consider the fact that you come from a family that has been involved in politics for a long time – your father is Speaker of the House of Representatives – as an advantage or a disadvantage?

It is not the most felicitous comparison, because politics is not a business, but my situation is similar to that of a father who has a business. When the father passes his business on to the son, the son would have got used to the system by observing what his father had been doing. My father has been in politics for almost 40 years. He was shadow minister for Gozo during the Labour government in the 1970s and 1980s, Minister for Gozo for 10 years under the 1987–1996 Nationalist government, and Speaker for the past six years. The fact that he has been in politics for such a long time is a clear testimony to the respect he enjoys. For me it is an advantage to have my father in politics and I can only learn from him.

You are a Gozitan candidate contesting an election fought on a nation-wide basis – with Malta and Gozo being a single district. Do you feel this makes you more or less relevant to Maltese candidates?

As you are saying, there will be a single district, irrespective of whether you hail from Malta or Gozo. The Maltese electorate can vote for a Gozitan candidate as much as the Gozitan electorate can vote for Maltese candidates. It is more difficult for a Gozitan candidate to obtain the support of the Maltese electorate, but I am doing everything possible for the Maltese electorate to get to know me. My message is that despite the fact that I hail from Gozo, I feel competent to work for my country as I have already done when I used to represent the Maltese people at the United Nations.

How much do you think your experience at the Maltese permanent mission to the UN in New York can help you to work at the European Parliament?

The UN is another international institution similar to the EP although with different competencies. The role of the EP is to pass laws, while the UN is more of a consultative forum where all the world’s sovereign States discuss issues of relevance across the whole globe and come up with recommendations and resolutions. I think that working at the UN for four years on behalf of the Maltese government was a great privilege. The fact that I have already experienced this role of representation and how to promote my country gives me additional experience. I already know how certain systems, corridors, networking and lobbying in international institutions work.

If you are elected to the European Parliament, would you be ready to work with the other Maltese MEPs elected from the Labour fold or possibly Alternattiva on national issues of common interest?

Undoubtedly, since there will only be five MEPs from Malta. However we will gain additional strength from the fact that

they will be part of their respective political group, the PES or the EPP. The number

of MEPs is limited, and it would be a

huge misfortune if each of the five

Maltese MEPs were to take a different way. We must take the same direction and even help each other so that we always defend Malta’s interests in our respective political groups. I have no problem whatsoever working with Maltese MEPs of other political parties in Malta’s interest, as I have already done this at the UN under a Labour government.

Do you have any particular area in which you would like to work should you get elected to the EP?

I think the Mediterranean question is very important in Malta’s international policy as this policy is a niche that Malta should make use of since we have already gained the credibility of countries, both north and south of the Mediterranean. Since we are in the centre of this region, we understand the prevailing mentality. We have very close diplomatic ties with all the countries of the Mediterranean and we are considered as a bridge and an interlocutor between all these countries. Malta should contribute so that there is more peace and security in the Mediterranean. It is also my ambition to contribute to seeing the current parliamentary assembly of the Mediterranean be renewed into a permanent Mediterranean Parliament having Malta as its seat. This would have a positive impact on Malta both politically and economically I also would like to work on regionality, employment, and culture, an aspect in which I have already been involved in Gozo.