Godfrey Farrugia to contest MEP elections

Democratic Party leader Godfrey Farrugia will be contesting next May’s MEP elections.

In a Facebook post uploaded this morning, the party said that following a meeting requested by deputy leader Timothy Alden, it had asked Farrugia to contest the election. The post was shared by Farrugia’s partner and fellow PD MP Marlene Farrugia. 

“Following a discussion called for by Deputy Leader Timothy Alden, we, the undersigned MEP candidates and members of the Executive of Partit Demokratiku, are requesting you, the Leader of our Party, to contest the upcoming MEP elections for the sake of our country,” read the post.

In his own Facebook post, uploaded shortly after, Farrugia confirmed that he will be joining the party's three candidates Camilla Appelgren, Martin Cauchi Inglott and Anthony Buttigieg in the race for a seat at the European Parliament.

Farrugia took over the leadership of the party from PD MEP candidate Anthony Buttigieg in October last year. Farrugia, a former Labour whip, was appointed leader after he ran for the post of leader uncontested.

In another statement published on Saturday, the PD said it believed that democracy in Malta is becoming "progressively more compromised, and therefore increasingbly jeopardised, not least because of the collusion of the two big parties which have turned the Maltese Parliament into a stage for bogus debates to rubberstamp pre determined outcomes".

"In this sad and dangerous state of goverance, PD decided to do its utmost, in an attempt to restore decency and credibility to the ailing political landscape which is costing Malta its reputation, its sustainable development and a healthy future for its upcoming generations," the party said.

PD said it was inviting the electorate to consider it "their instrument of choice to fix the worsening political  scenario, and to put Malta and Gozo back on the road to healthy sustainability".