New progressive party will see former MEP, ADPD candidate, PL councillor and PN candidate join its ranks
Partit Malta Progressiva, a political party set to launch next year, will see former MEP, candidates, party executive members and councillors join its ranks including Cyrus Engerer and Silvan Agius
Partit Malta Progressiva, a political party set to launch next year, will see former MEPs, candidates, executive members and councillors join its ranks, MaltaToday is informed.
MaltaToday is informed that among the people working behind the scenes for the centre-left party Partit Malta Progressiva (PMP) are former Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer and former cabinet expert within Helena Dalli’s cabinet at the European Commission Silvan Agius. Agius was also a candidate with Alternattiva Demokratika in the 2013 General Election.
Sources who spoke to this newspaper said a number of individuals from across the country’s political groups are expected to join PMP’s ranks.
“If everything goes according to plan, we will see a former Labour councillor, a former Nationalist candidate and someone who worked within ADPD’s executive joining PMP,” a source said.
MaltaToday is informed that in January 2025, the party’s committee will be announced publicly, with the party’s statute already drawn up.
“It will not be another small party like ADPD or Volt, but a proper full-blown political party,” another source said. “It will be a party centred around an ideal, not an individual.
Speaking to MaltaToday on Monday morning, Engerer, a former MEP did not deny his involvement with PMP, but was coy in his replies.
“I was approached over a year ago to create a left-leaning party, and I liked the idea,” he told this newspaper. “When I see principles, I agree with, I will contribute as I did with the MGRM, as I did with other NGOs, and as I did with other political parties.”
Engerer did not delve further on his official role with PMP.
Engerer did not contest June’s MEP elections, after entering the European Parliament in 2020, claiming he had been “orphaned” by Malta’s political system.
Agius also confirmed with MaltaToday that he is currently working with the team behind PMP.
He said the principles the party will represent are not being embodied in other political groups in the country.
“There is no place for these principles to be conveyed in Malta. Other parties are not reacting to the true needs of the Maltese. I want the party to be the voice of reason,” he said.
He said that those working behind PMP are not under the impression they are representative of all Maltese. “We are privileged, I have worked abroad for a number of years, but maybe because we are privileged, we have the duty to carry this out.”
He said PMP wants to see a Malta that is not politically polarise “all the time.”
“You can see that the country is under stress from this constant polarisation,” he told this newspaper.
Asked whether the fragmentation of small parties is strengthening the bigger parties, he said that is not a concern.
“We want the party to fundamentally be based on the message. We want to be free in our work to improve Malta. It is the compromises of the big parties which have led to where we are today,” he insisted.
Il-Kolletiv distances itself from Partit Malta Progressiva
Reacting to reports on PMP, NGO Il-Kolletiv said PMP in no way related to Il-Kollettiv and its work.
“We welcome the creation of new political establishments as should be the norm in a functioning democracy, whilst reaffirming our idea that, when the circumstances are right, Il-Kollettiv will be a base for the formation of a political party that will work for social justice, equality and the common good, and will do so through collective action among our communities,” it said.
It also said it is not worried about “fragmentation” since it believes that politics, just like activism, is a duty not a competition for power.
“The political monopoly of the two bigger parties has left a sizeable number of “political orphans” not from within them, but from among the electorate, and these people deserve a political representation that addresses their aspirations. It has always been clear to us that, whether il-Kollettiv forms a political party or not, it will retain its independence as a non-governmental organisation, and will honour its commitments with groups and individuals,” it said.
Il-Kolletiv also said throughout this summer, the Executive Council reiterated its original vision “that this commitment will be a long-term, genuine and responsible one, independently of our plans to create a political party. We shall therefore maintain this commitment towards the residents of our towns and their groups – some of which we helped form – and we will continue in our work to bring the tools of democracy closer to the people.”
“During 2024 we’ve had the pleasure to work with residents and Local Councils from eighteen towns in Malta, and we shall continue our work on the proposal for a wide-ranging planning reform written by the people for the people,” Il-Kolletiv said. “We are pleased that in this first year we have achieved what we always set out to achieve, that is, bringing activism closer to our communities. We have done so not only by resisting the elements that want to destroy these communities, but also by bringing together the communities – the grassroots of our society – and proposed ideas and set to work so that our activism can leave something behind, for everyone.”
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