Sant will not contest next MEP elections
Alfred Sant will not be contesting another European parliamentary election as he wants to “make room” for others, he said in an interview yesterday.
The MEP and former prime minister confirmed he will be closing his European chapter during an interview with Andrew Azzopardi on 103.
“When you reach a certain age it makes sense to leave and make room for someone else,” Sant said.
An MEP since 2014, Sant said he always worked for Maltese interests and not European ones.
“I always considered myself a Maltese representative, not a European one,” he said. Sant said that he never took on roles such as vice president of a parliamentary committee, that would have required him to act in the interests of the EU.
Because of this, Sant saw no conflict in his well-known stand against Malta’s EU membership in 2003 and subsequently his election to the European Parliament. The former prime minister maintained that on balance, Malta lost more than it gained through EU membership.
“The country did well in sectors where the EU has no competence like tourism and financial services and badly in sectors like transport, agriculture and manufacturing where the EU has a larger say.”
Sant, who served as Labour prime minister between 1996 and 1998, said Malta is facing increasing pressure from Europe to change its corporate tax regime.
Sant said the country’s “addiction” to the feel-good factor means that politicians are wary of taking tough decisions out of fear of losing votes.
“If a party makes tough but important decisions, the other party promises to reverse them,” Sant said.
As a result, tough decisions on the environment are not being taken because of a fear of losing political capital.
Sant said he agrees with the PL’s proposed amendment that would allow abortion when a woman’s life or health is at serious risk.