PL MP Oliver Scicluna has taken to Facebook to express his anger and offence at people offering him their vote in exchange for favours, saying that this is a practice and mentality which needs to stop.

Scicluna, who has been an MP for almost a year now after he was co-opted to replace Gavin Gulia who has just won a controversial casual election, said that this is one of the things in politics which has been around for a long time but which he would never get used to.

“So many individuals come up to me and tell me that if I help they will ‘think of me’”, Scicluna said on his Facebook page.

He said that this is a phrase and sentiment which makes him feel uneasy, not necessarily because he would not want to help, but because he believes that people should only get what they think is theirs by right if they actually have a right for it.

At the same time, he said, the phrase itself has the undertones of a threat not to vote for him.

“This is a sentiment which hurts me.  I am writing this publicly because I feel offended when someone comes up to me for help with the idea that they will use their vote to gain some sort of favour in return. They forgot that I came into politics to work for a truly just society,” Scicluna said.

“I want the people who vote for me to do so from their hearts and because they believe that I can do something good, not to trade their vote for a favour,” he added.

“This is a mentality which needs to stop, and it needs to be us politicians who stop it once and for all,” he said.

It is not at all unheard of – in fact it is quite common – for MPs and even ministers to have members of their own office call up constituents in the run-up to elections to see whether they “need anything.”

His post drew a lot of positive reactions, including from Labour Party deputy leader Daniel Micallef, who said that this is why there is the need for a change in the electoral system.

“To change culture, we need to change the system.  It’s important to not let the system change you,” he said.

Malta is due to go to the polls at some point in 2022.