Cyrus Engerer will not run for MEP
Cyrus Engerer has confirmed that he will not contest June’s MEP elections.
Engerer, a Labour MEP who entered the European Parliament in 2020, said that many people with his values were currently feeling “orphaned” by Malta’s political system.
He said he would remain active in public life, taking on a more activist role.
“I believe Malta needs change,” he said, saying the country must rise to “the next level”. That meant ensuring a level playing field for all, transparent government and the full implementation of recommendations made by inquiries into the deaths of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Jean Paul Sofia, he added.
Rumours about Engerer not running for re-election have swirled for months and were lent greater credence on Friday, when he was not among nine Labour candidates who jointly submitted their nomination as MEP electoral candidates.
One day prior, on Thursday, Engerer had voiced his support for a newly-created activist group, Il-Kollettiv, which has acknowledged that it also has political ambitions.
In a post published to his Facebook page yesterday morning, Engerer said that he was proud to have served as a voice of socialist and progressive politics within the European Parliament.
He highlighted his work focused on environmental protection, social justice and human rights as especially dear to him.
Engerer first entered politics as a Nationalist Party candidate, serving on Sliema’s local council representing the PN. But his progressive stances on issues like gay rights and divorce left him at loggerheads with the party and in 2011 he switched allegiances, joining Joseph Muscat’s Labour Party.
Meanwhile Xagħra’s former mayor Christian Zammit, who last year quit politics and the Labour Party, has returned to the party to run in June’s local council elections.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Zammit, who had built a reputation for speaking out against environmental destruction and overdevelopment, said he was approached by many citizens who encouraged him to return to politics.