Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant said that is in the upcoming MEP elections in Malta it is very important for the outcome of the Maltese elections to serve as a signal to the rest of Europe that in the coming political seachange, the Maltese people is focussing on how to defend its interests which have been marginalised by one size fits all European policies.   

Alfred Sant  said that it is quite likely that the result of the European Parliament elections will shock the governments of the big European states. Political and economic prospects within Europe will quite likely be affected in a big way by the result.

Dr Sant, who will be contesting the EP elections, was speaking during a social occasion organized as an appreciation for helpers in his campaign for the European Parliament elections in May

Alfred Sant said that while abstention in elections held in Malta has been traditionally low by European standards, the same temptation to abstain that is growing in Europe could affect the Maltese electorate. This, said Alfred Sant, would be a mistake since many Maltese still have not understood the important impact that decisions taken on a European level are having on their day to day lives. More than other European peoples, given our size, the Maltese  need to show that they take seriously the issues that are being raised in the EU and that they want Maltese interests to be stoutly defended.

The EP Candidate said that a crucial factor in the elections will be the abstention rate Europe wide. Many people all over Europe will seek to express their dissatisfaction with the way that the EU has been run in the last few years, as  unemployment and austerity have become the rule of the day.