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Rightward drift for Gżira mayor Borg Manché as he declares ECR allegiance
Gżira mayor and former Labour councillor now running as independent candidate in MEP elections says that if elected he will join the European Conservatives
6 June 2024, 11:13am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
2 min read
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Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché
Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché, who resigned from the Labour Party last year and is running as an independent candidate in the European Parliament elections, has nailed his colours to the mast: he identifies with the European Conservatives’ group in the EP.
It is a sharp right-ward drift for the former Labour Party mayor, who billed his candidature as a “slap to partisan politics” after breaking ranks with Labour.
The ECR previously hosted British Conservative MEPs before Brexit, having been created in 2009 in a response increasing EU centralisation. It is a sceptic of the Green Deal’s effects on industry and farming, and makes control of illegal immigration a top priority apart from the tempering of the EU’s powers on member states.
It’s main parties include Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Fratelli d’Italia, the Spanish hard-right Vox, and right-wing populists Swedish Democrats.
Borg Manché told Lovin Malta that while he would have ideally remained completely non-aligned at the European Parliament, doing so would have placed him at a disadvantage. “The ECR is the political group that is most aligned with my views, in terms of family values, being against abortion, and opposing a federalist Europe. I may not agree with them on everything but it’s the group that is most in sync with my values.”
He wrote to the ECR’s secretary-general to confirm his intentions and is currently awaiting a response.
Borg Manché had a major fall-out with the Labour Party in 2023 when he accused the party of betraying its socialist principles over plans to turn part of a public garden into a petrol station.
He lambasted party president Ramona Attard for fronting a court case on behalf of the Lands Authority, as a lawyer, to push the Gżira council to accept plans to move a petrol station to the site of a public garden, decreasing the garden in size by almost 1,000 square metres.
The council eventually won the court battle to stop the relocation of the fuel station.
This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament's grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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