It is unusual for the President of the European Parliament (EP) to make the headlines. But incumbent Martin Schultz has been in the limelight rather a lot of late, for all the wrong reasons. One example was for suppressing a paragraph in an already-approved EP committee report that was critical of him. Not auspicious behaviour for someone who leads a democratically-elected institution.

As a candidate for the European Commission Presidency, he has shown few qualms regarding using the authority and resources of his EP office for his own political ends. From transforming the official Twitter account of the EP Presidency into his campaign’s account, to ‘parachuting’ members of his political secretariat into various permanent senior jobs with the EP, Schultz has shown scant scruples in working towards his political ends.

Cronyism: it runs in the Labour family

Schultz is running for Commission President as the candidate of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. That’s the same political family that our Labour Party belongs to. A vote for Labour on 24 May will mean, amongst other things, a vote for a man whose track record shows that he is incapable of acting impartially in the public interest.

But it's not just that. To take the metaphor a bit further, cronyism runs in the family. Joseph Muscat, who had Schultz over to endorse him in the 2008 campaign for the Labour leadership post, has shown he’s no beginner in the same game. I need not go through the long list of people who, since Labour took office, are enjoying the benefits of lucrative posts or deals for no reason other than for political connections. But I think I should refer to the revelation, made earlier this week, that the “top 12” on that list will have pocketed no less than €3 million by the end of this Parliamentary term.

An opportunity for a choice on the basis of merit

Whatever the outcome of the EP election, Labour will still be governing Malta after 24 May and noses will still be busy in troughs for a few more years after that date. But the EP election offers an opportunity to throw a pebble in the muddy water that has become Maltese public life. For the first time since March 2013, six public posts will be filled not at the discretion of the Labour government and on the sole criterion of political loyalty. For the first time, the decision will be made by the Maltese electorate at large.

Mindful of this opportunity, the Nationalist Party has made a careful selection of its line-up of candidates for this election. It is a varied group, with some having years of experience in the political field (including as MEPs) as well as newcomers. But there is something common to all of them: they were not chosen out of political convenience or to pander to special interest groups or categories. Their credentials are the excellent track records they have established in their respective field or profession.

The Nationalist Party line-up: based on competency

We really need some competent people in the EP. Ten years of EU membership should have made it clear by now how important the single market has been to expand the horizons of our economy, contribute to the country’s wealth and create more and better jobs. But that is an opportunity, and drawing the benefits from such an opportunity is another matter and needs some serious working on.

Our country's performance has slipped in the past year. Unemployment has been gradually climbing. Relatively few jobs have been created in the private sector; most new jobs were with the public sector and now that we know how Labour fills in these posts we can safely conclude that most of them will count for little other than to burden the public purse. It's high time we do something before the situation gets out of hand.

The right approach: bridge-building with our EU partners

Alfred Sant, Labour’s star candidate in this election, is on record as saying that the Maltese MEPs will be small fry in the EP. Holding that view is a matter of attitude. A Maltese MEP can choose to take the “us and them” approach, an approach which, to varying degrees, Labour candidates are adopting. And as we all know, tilting at windmills never got anyone very far.

Earlier this week, Jean Claude Juncker visited Malta as part of his campaign for the Presidency of the European Commission on behalf of the European People’s Party. As a long-serving Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Juncker knows that bridge-building is what gets results in the EU and that goodwill should be cultivated everywhere, including in the smallest EU member state. It’s been a decade now since Nationalist MEPs learnt that lesson and have made use of it with success.

Clyde Puli is the Shadow Minister for Family and Social Solidarity