I am 41 years old. I have contested two local council elections, one MEP election and five consecutive general elections.
I was first elected to Parliament at the age of 27, in the same day I became a dad to my lovely daughter Ema. This will be my fourth consecutive term as a Member of Parliament and have been serving as Minister uninterruptedly since 2014 (for a year I had served as a Parliamentary Secretary in 2013).
In the last general election, I was strongly returned from two districts, the third and the fifth, increasing, by considerable measure, popular support in both the third and the fifth districts. Indeed this was personally the best electoral result I have achieved so far to which I am very grateful and humbled.
I have a lot of people who respect me, and I have my share of critics too.
In my career I pride myself to have delivered a whole list of important milestones: the creation of the very first grilling mechanism in Parliament, the separation of the dual role of the Office of the Attorney General, the successful revitalisation and complete rejuvination of Valletta, a party financing law, a whistleblowers’ protection law, a trailblazing reform on the responsible use of cannabis, the creation of the Heritage Passport to make our patrimony accessible to all, a service pension for the members of the Judiciary, new mechanisms for better accountability by members of the Judiciary, a radical improvement in terms of gender balance within the members of the Judiciary, the striking off of criminal libel and a wholesome progressive review of Media law, the modernisation of the laws governing artistic freedom, the concrete proposal of a new regime on femicide, the restoration of Fort St Angelo, Fort Sant’Iermu and the successful opening of MUZA and new unprecedented financing structures to incentivise post-doc researchers to work within the industry to name a few and the first which come to mind.
I do have a lot of experience, coupled with the energy and verve of people who are still relatively young not only at heart, but also physically.
This provides me with an insight to understand better what people want out of those who commit themselves to public service and in the business of leading our country.
With all due respect, what people in their homes and in the street want from us is very different from what a lot of commentators believe that people at large want from their elected representatives.
I can bring down the brand of politics that I believe the electorate wants to one word: kindness. People want politics of kindness.
By the word politics of kindness, I mean a brand of politics which has humility and sincerity at its base. A brand of politics which sees the elected people staying close to the electorate and genuinely caring for them.
A brand of politics which is authentic, raw if need be, and which calls a spade a spade.
A brand of politics where the political figure is truly accessible, straightforward and understands the hardships that the electorate goes through and concretely tries to do something to improve their quality of life.
The electorate does not seek perfection from the politician but expects the politician to have the humility to apologise when genuine mistakes are committed or decisions which by time turn out to be wrong ones are taken.
The politics of kindness is the direct opposite of the politics of hatred and personal attacks which a lot of so-called Blue Heroes have polluted our political scene with. And that is precisely why what I had predicted last December actually happened : those politicians from the Opposition who made it their mission to foster hatred and envy were not elected this time round.
I strongly believe in the politics of kindness.
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One of the comments which I have heard a lot in the past weeks related to the Papal visit in our country and the fact that the visit took place only a few days after the holding of a general election.
It is indeed remarkable that in less than a week, our people united together in greeting Pope Francis, casting aside all the disagreements which general elections inevitably trigger as part of the democratic process.
It was indeed my privilege to meet, for the third time, Pope Francis. I still cherish the beautiful memories of when we took a Maltese-styled crib to the Vatican or when we negotiated a revision of the treaty with the Holy See to allow for parallel proceedings in marriage annulment proceedings.
I really enjoyed hearing the speech which Pope Francis delivered at the Grandmasters’ Palace. It was impeccably written and the use of the simily of the four winds surrounding the heart of the Mediterranean (Malta) was really beautiful.
I also admired the clear and direct way in which Pope Francis condemned what is going on in Ukraine at the hands of the Russian soldiers. May his words in favour of peace in the region find fertile ground in the minds and hearts of those who decided to trigger this Unnecessary War.
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The new legislature brought about new responsibilities for me.
I will now be in charge of Culture and Broadcasting. As part of our Ministry, but under the direct remit of Alison Zerafa Civelli, we also have the political responsibility relating to Local Councils.
It is a well-known fact that I love culture with a passion and I realised how much I had missed the sector only when I immersed into it again.
Broadcasting is also a sector which is close to my heart.
On both culture and broadcasting I intend to deliver on our promises and to push the sectors forward to new hights in a post-pandemic environment.
I would like to thank again Prime Minister Robert Abela for the trust shown in me. I look forward to work, alongside my team, with the various people in these sectors.
I am sure that we will do a lot of fantastic things together!