Local councils, introduced in Malta 30 years ago, have often served as a launching pad for a parliamentary seat.

There are 68 local councils throughout Malta, each with their own mayor at the head of the table. The recent proposal which would allow 16-year-olds to take up the posts of mayor and deputy mayor has reignited discussions surrounding the importance of the posts as well as the responsibilities one would have to deal with in these positions.

A sentiment which has been propagated in favour of the proposal is the notion that being elected as mayor can be huge stepping stone for a young politician’s career and an invaluable opportunity for relevant experience before vying for a Parliament position. The proposal to allow for 16-year-old mayors seems to have bipartisan support for the most part, though there are some dissenting opinions on the matter.

But, of course, it is not only 16-year-olds who can become mayors, and history has taught us that there have been a number of people who have moved on from the post of mayor to a parliamentary seat. There are also others who did not make it to be elected as a mayor, but served as a deputy mayor or as a councillor before moving on to the House of Representatives.

With local council elections looming ahead and set to take place in June of the upcoming year in tandem with the European Parliament elections, it could be the case that some of the individuals on the ballot papers could be our future representatives in Parliament down the line. The political parties are in the stages of finalising their list of candidates for the upcoming local council elections. We will know more when the official lists are made public. We’re just six months away from the next round of local council elections.

What do the numbers say in about local government experience, specifically holding the post of a mayor, leading to a career in national politics?

Sifting through the records of past mayors and members of Parliament, one finds that there have been 33 individuals who first served as mayor and went on to be elected into Parliament.

In addition to that, mention should be made of Renato Agius Muscat who did the reverse course, becoming the mayor of Zabbar after he had served in Parliament. Edwin Vassallo is a similar case of a former MP going on to serve as mayor, this time of Mosta, from 2015 to 2016, though he later was re-elected to Parliament. Karl Gouder previously served as an MP before being elected as mayor of St Julian’s, and then returning to Parliament. All of them represented the Nationalist Party.

Paul Borg Olivier is also a unique case as someone who did not go on to serve in Parliament but became the Secretary General of the Nationalist Party after his tenure as Valletta mayor. These four individuals were not included in our count of 33 mayors-turned-MPs.

26 separate localities were featured among the list of the 33 mayors who went on to become MPs.

Of the 26 localities, 20 of them had only one future MP from amongst their former mayors. Qormi was the only one with three and the other 5 localities had two representatives each.

Although there have been many mayors who did not go on to experience a career at the national level of politics, the numbers clearly show that the local elections have the potential to serve as a substantial launching pad for one’s political career with some former mayors even going on to serve as ministers within their respective governments. 10 out of the 33 former mayors went on to become ministers.

As said earlier, there were then a number of individuals who served as deputy mayors and councillors before making it to Parliament.

Listed below are the mayors-turned-MPs;

 

Qormi

Clyde Puli

Roderick Galdes (Current Social Accommodation Minister)

Rosianne Cutajar

Birkirkara

Michael Asciak

Tonio Fenech (Former Finance Minister)

Mosta

Ivan Bartolo

Romilda Zarb

St Pauls Bay

Michael Gonzi

Graziella Galea

Sliema

Robert Arrigo

Graziella Attard Previ

Zebbug (Malta)

Godfrey Farrugia (Former Health Minister)

Malcolm Paul Galea

Cospicua

Alison Zerafa Civelli

Dingli

Ian Borg (Current Foreign Affairs Minister, former Transport Minister)

Fgura

Byron Camilleri (Current Home Affairs Minister)

Floriana

Davina Sammut Hili

Hamrun

Luciano Busuttil

Lija

Ian Castaldi Paris

Mellieha

Robert Cutajar

Mqabba

Omar Farrugia

Msida

Clifton Grima (Current Education Minister)

Nadur

Chris Said (Former Justice Minister)

Naxxar

Maria Deguara

Paola

Silvio Parnis

Pembroke

Gino Cauchi

Qala

Clint Camilleri (Current Gozo Minister)

Victoria

Victor Galea Pace

Rabat

Charles Azzopardi

St Julian’s

Albert Buttigieg

Siggiewi

Karol Aquilina

Swieqi

Dolores Cristina (Former Education and Social Solidarity Minister)

Zabbar

Clyde Caruana (Current Finance Minister)