[WATCH] Mark Anthony Sammut: ‘PN needs to convince hearts ’

Nationalist MP Mark Anthony Sammut acknowledges that the Opposition’s parliamentary behaviour needs to improve but insists it pales into insignificance compared to how government treats parliament. 

Although PN MPs sometimes lose control of their emotions, he tells me, it is nothing compared to government’s lack of respect towards the institution. He cites the number of unanswered PQs by ministers as an example of disrespect. 

“Ministers who don’t reply to parliamentary questions or treat parliament as a rubber stamp are much more disrespectful than a word that is said when emotions are high,” he says. 
Although his party’s position in the polls has improved, Sammut believes more needs to be done for the PN to win hearts. 
Speaking about the transport sector, which is part of his portfolio, Sammut acknowledges that some of the recently announced traffic-reducing measures are promising. 
When asked whether a PN government would disincentivise people from using a private car through “the stick,” the MP says the only stick that is needed is road enforcement, which he argues has declined. 
Sammut stresses that an efficient mass transport system is crucial to changing the Maltese driving culture, adding this should have been the government’s first step to fixing the traffic problem in the long run. 
While acknowledging that the last PN government’s attempt to change the public transport system had suffered serious failures, Sammut notes that the party is still credible in offering the solutions needed to address the country’s mobility needs. 

The following is an excerpt of the interview.  

Watch the full interview on maltatoday.com.mt, Facebook and Spotify. 

In the PN’s statement reacting to the newly announced traffic-reducing measures, you said that a root problem of the traffic situation is the excessive number of cars on our roads. The government is currently trying to solve the problem by providing the carrot [giving incentives]. Would a PN government use the stick? 

The first thing we need to do, which the government has skipped, is to invest in a mass transport system. Whether it’s a metro, trackless tram, or a bus rapid transit, we need to compare the systems through a study, decide on one of them, and implement it. 

We’ve been hearing for years how the government conducted a study on the metro, spent some €2 million on a launch, and it has now disappeared. We need to see a plan for a mass transport system that gets people from point A to point B efficiently and in a reliable manner… 

When it comes to the stick, I think the stick we need to use is enforcement. We cannot keep allowing dangerous driving and cowboys on our roads. I believe we’ve fallen behind on enforcement. Traffic police have disappeared, you see Transport Malta officials but they’re mostly redirecting traffic rather than keeping an eye out for abuse. 

Right now, we have one mass transport system. It’s not the most efficient but it is free. But since it was made free more cars have been introduced to our roads. Do you think that an efficient and punctual mass transport system is enough to decrease our love for cars? 

I don’t think people didn’t use the bus because there was a €1 fee. People still don’t use the bus because they wait for a bus that is supposed to arrive at 8:30am and by 9:15am, it still isn’t there. I think that lack of reliability is keeping people from using the bus. 

That’s why we need a system where you know that you will leave a point at a specific time and arrive at another. When you use your car, you can guess when you’ll arrive, but if you run into traffic or can’t find parking, there are more variables… 

Should the age for getting a driving licence be increased? 

I don’t think that’s going to happen. Even in the EU, there are drives to lower the driving age because there is a shortage of drivers and other transport jobs. Malta is against this, and we agree that the driving age should remain as it is, but it’s good that we get teenagers to use other modes of transport rather than the car. 

The last PN government that tried to change the bus system failed, and this is still fresh in many people’s minds. Do you think that this memory chips away at the PN’s credibility to offer transport solutions? 

When you try to reform, it’s not the first time the result isn’t what you hoped for. What’s certain is that there were no allegations of corruption tied to that reform… 

It could be that the implementation meant that there were too many changes happening at once which the people couldn’t handle in a short time. Not having the bus routes centred around Valletta, instead having small buses serving different regions while larger buses connect different centres, is a concept that we’re going back to because we understand that a system built around Valletta doesn’t make sense.  

Yes, it could be the way it was implemented, and the frequency of buses didn’t encourage people to use the bus. You had the fact that a number of drivers didn’t come to work, so the whole thing started on the wrong foot… 

There were failures in planning one has to admit that, but that doesn’t mean the PN isn’t credible to implement changes in this sector as it successfully did in the past. 

You mentioned corruption before, and it’s true there are new revelations every month. Despite this, the PN hasn’t made big enough inroads; rather, the PL has shed votes. Why do you think the PN is struggling to win the electorate’s trust?  

I don’t agree with your statement because, in last year’s election, there wasn’t only a case where the PL lost votes. Half of the votes that the PL lost went to the PN, and the other half went to other parties and candidates. So, there was a switch, although it’s not enough, and we need to do more. 

The PN needs to correct its communication where we don’t just use logic and reasoning to convince people, we need to convince hearts… 

Certain scenes in parliament, like the ones we saw a few days ago where PN MPs spoke a certain way about the Speaker, undoubtedly irk people. It’s true that tempers are high in parliament, but don’t you think these episodes keep people away from the PN? 

Everyone is human, and everyone has moments when emotions take over. However, it is a reality that during the past few years, the Speaker has not always acted objectively. It cannot be that every time the PN requests an urgent debate, the ruling is always that the matter isn’t urgent.  

Yes, but the language that was used that day surely isn’t exemplary in parliament. 

Neither are many things that happen there that don’t always show up on camera. I’m not saying it’s ideal. Yes, one needs to control themselves more. 

But we cannot censure an MP or the Opposition because of the way it protested and then have a government that treats parliament the way it does. Our behaviour should be more exemplary, but we should respect parliament in every way.  

I think that ministers who don’t reply to parliamentary questions or treat parliament as a rubber stamp are much more disrespectful than a word that is said when emotions are high…