Political parties are the custodians of the political process. They are the means through which political leaders are formed. It is a fact that, despite what is legally enshrined, we still do not live in a society where women and men have equal opportunities. This is also why I believe that women and men should work more together to address the situation. The fact is that out of the 495 million citizens of the European Union, just over half (51 per cent) are women, but in September 2008 only 245 of the 785 MEPs (31 per cent) were women.

For women, access to leadership positions in any sphere of society does not always mean access to decision-making power. Hidden barriers in organisational cultures, social stereotypes, lack of skills and resources, including lack of information and time, including juggling their different gender roles are among the challenges that often work to undermine women’s ability to succeed in leadership roles. We need not only ensure access, but also to provide women with the enabling environment and the tools with which they can succeed in public roles.

One crucial issue is finance. To finance a campaign means a lot of money. However, if the determining factor to be elected is money, then we have a threat to democracy. Nancy Astor was more than right when, in 1919, during her maiden speech to the House of Commons following her election as the first woman Member of Parliament in the UK, she stated that “I do not want you to look on your lady Member as a fanatic or lunatic. I am simply trying to speak for hundreds of women and children throughout the country who cannot speak for themselves.”

This is my mission today 90 years later. I come from a family which one can consider as the average family. Both my parents worked outside the home and did their best, as in most families, to ensure that we were not deprived of anything. That meant that my parents had to be very careful in home management. Not all was possible for us. I am proud of my family background and remain eternally grateful to my parents for their sacrifices. Now that I am venturing into the world of elective politics by contesting the European Parliament elections, such a background is serving me to obtain a true insight of the needs of people.

Let us be crude. The vast majority of Maltese families live on limited incomes, and they have to juggle between work, family commitments and leisure. There are choices in life, and most of the time, choices are about hard decisions. Decisions between healthy living, giving the utmost to your children to succeed in education, and watching them going up the ladder is the dream for every parent. Watching your children graduate is an achievement, while knowing that they made it to the top will be a dream come true. The average family strives hard to have its mission accomplished. Health and medical reasons make it even worse when it comes to cure. Parents deprive themselves of many essential things, but this really does not matter to them as long as they see their children growing up in the best way possible.

However there are other realities. Not all families can cope, and with the financial crisis hitting hard on Malta, many of our families are suffering in silence. A four-day week does not actually mean three days off from work. It means less money to take home. Less money means the necessity for even tougher decisions to be taken by families. Sometimes, families may find themselves having to choose between investing in their children’s education, including whether to have a computer with internet connection at home, or pay the bills, including the hefty bank loans that many younger families have to carry for the best part of their lives.

It is with this in mind that I have embarked upon this new challenge in my political life. Having for the past four years represented Malta on the Committee of the Regions of the European Union, I have come to learn that the best results are achieved through networking and coalition building with other politicians from the other Member States. This experience, particularly given the current economic crisis that has engulfed us all, has taught me that it is in our collective best interest to cooperate with one another and strive as much as possible to seek common solutions to problems. That explains the need for the platform ‘People First’, whereby together with our socialist family we will put people’s interests first.

The 2009 European elections are an opportunity for the citizens of Europe to exercise their right to elect a new representative assembly for the next five years. It is only natural for women to be elected even though not a right. However, it is their right to voice the concerns of families, men, women and children alike, because after all, we are all in this together.

Claudette Abela Baldacchino is a Labour Party candidate for the EP election

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