It took a few weeks of meetings and discussion for Floriana to have its mayor after the June elections and, in the end, the locality is being led by Nigel Holland, who has been in and out of the council for the last decades, always as an independent candidate.

The Labour Party obtained a relative majority in the election, but this was not enough to have Sandra Sammut Hili - the candidate with the highest number of votes - take on the top role.

Instead, Holland is now leading the council with a Nationalist Party candidate, James Aaron Ellul, serving as his deputy.

In an interview with The Malta Independent, Holland said that in Floriana, typically, the party with the relative majority nominates a mayor by virtue of their majority and expect the support of any independent candidates. However, he said that typically, independent candidates don't vote in favour of the nomination of the relative majority's mayor.

"We expect them to take the first step and frankly, to support us. The independents then normally nominate a deputy mayor from the party who supports us." He pointed out that abstention is not possible as it would be legally deemed a vote in favour of the nominated mayor so they must always vote against.

Regarding the nomination of mayor during this legislature, Holland said the same story was witnessed. "The independent (himself) didn't support any partisan mayor. The PN councillors didn't want to outright support me for a week. Now, usually, the party with relative majority has the 'right' to reach an agreement with the independent first, but the Labour councillors weren't able to reach an agreement. Following this, PN stepped forward, supported me and I nominated a PN deputy."

He pointed out that had he received a unanimous vote, as had happened once before in the past, his policy is to nominate the councillor with the most votes in the party with the relative majority as deputy. Had it happened this year, he would have nominated a Labour deputy, but it was not the case, he said.

When asked for comment on rumours of his PN leanings, due to his history of having PN deputy mayors, Holland answered: "There is nothing to it." He said that following the usual nomination system, "James Aaron Ellul [an elected PN councillor] asked me to work with the PN's proposals which I deemed generic and acceptable. If there are good proposals by Labour I will work with them too. Give it two weeks and the councillors will all contribute".

Holland said: "In Floriana, this is the norm; it's in the Floriana psyche, it is known that the two parties won't concede the mayorship to the other. So, the norm is to vote for the in-between, an independent candidate." Holland said that this system is by no means a secret and "the parties know this". Furthermore, he said that they know the way he works, that is: speaking and negotiating strictly with elected councillors and never going to any partisan quarters.

Holland said that should a party official contact him, which they did even this year, he always answers: "Don't be offended but I only speak to elected councillors." He said: "I believe in maintaining my independence by communicating directly with councillors, rather than with officials or within headquarters. In fact, I spoke to the councillors over a coffee."

"Independent candidates must understand: if we voted for a mayor from a party, we would condemn ourselves in the next election. One can argue that they supported the independent and I reciprocated, but to outright support a party would alienate voters by being partisan."

Despite the Floriana system being an unintentional product of history, Holland is not satisfied with it and questioned how democratic it really was. The problems begin with the local councils system adopted nationally. "It is a farce," he said. "When voters give their number one preference, there is no guarantee that the candidate will become mayor. This needs to change. There should be a system to vote for councillors similar to Italy's system."

Holland also pointed out: "The parties should be responsible to back more people, not just those capable of organising party activities such as coffee mornings, though there are many who serve their locality well. But some are put forth simply because they are popular in their locality. The parties don't care, after the elections, two weeks later at most, do you hear them talking about the local councils? All they care about is being able to say they gained a locality or seats on election day."

Furthermore, Holland said: "I have long been saying a different system should be created. I would prefer if there was a direct election for a mayor like in Italy. One can say, 'How can someone be voted mayor if he has no partisan backing and the council vetoes everything?' But this is done abroad since, in certain countries, the mayor has certain executive powers, like the French president. It is then up to the mayor to build consensus in the council."

Regarding the fluctuating percentages of votes for Floriana L-Ewwel over the years, Holland said that the first time he wasn't elected to council as an independent candidate is attributed to "a little political effect" during the time of Joseph Muscat. He said that based on his age and experience, he had compared Joseph Muscat at his peak, with his cult following, to Dom Mintoff and "I couldn't believe it".

Holland noted that despite the "Muscat tsunami" with Labour taking wins in local councils, PN losing stronghold localities and the dwindling number of PN mayors, the independent candidates didn't fare too badly. The independent candidates were affected by a trickle-down effect, but "within this polarised partisan situation, I tell my constituents, one independent vote has the same value as three big party votes", he said.

Coming up to the current day, Holland said that the last 10 years saw much dissatisfaction among the Furjaniżi, making a distinction between the residents and the Furjaniżi, who keep the locality vibrant through various clubs and continue to visit, even if they reside elsewhere. He said that "their dissatisfaction began to grow; they noticed a lassitude, certain activities we had created like St Patrick's Day nearly disappeared with time" not to mention greater problems such as the infrastructure and public cleanliness.

Holland also pointed out that "in the last 10 years, the Floriana local council didn't hold a single press conference. When it comes to the local council every councillor has his/her duty and so the majority becomes irrelevant and it goes down to the individual councillors to do their work, irrespective of their party", he said.

Holland said that this dissatisfaction was reflected in the last election which saw Floriana L-Ewwel receive the highest percentage of votes yet, as well as a good number of votes towards another independent candidate.

Upon being nominated as mayor after a hiatus of 10 years, Holland said that some Floriana residents told him that the local council became "like a governmental department while others say that they are ignored by ministries, but I told them not anymore. No chance. I made it very clear". He said: "There are many issues the local council can involve itself in and they would do wrong to ignore us. I will make sure the council's voice is heard and everyone knows this."

Holland said: "I don't believe ministries will ignore us anymore, maybe things have changed, but I recently asked for meetings with government entities and I was granted them, so far. And I do not plan on being ignored. Governments and parties know how I acted in the past."

When asked about the future of his role in the council, Holland said: "I'll be 70 if I finish this legislature and I'd have served 22 years in the local council. I am involved in the Vilhena band club, work with the Capuchins and have many things on my plate. My tendency is not to contest again at the moment, but never say never. And I have new personal projects in mind. But it all depends."

He concluded: "At 70 years of age, I don't know how I'll be. And I believe if one cannot function to the maximum of their capacity then move over. I tell the other councillors that they must carry the mantle in five years' time. And though there is an aging population in Floriana, the councillors are still young."

This is the second part of the interview. The first part appeared in the last edition of The Malta Independent on Sunday