Democratic Party to join European liberal democrat party

Malta's Democratic Party will join the liberal political grouping in Europe as the fledgling party tries to assert its identity.

The move comes well in advance of the next European Parliament election to be held in 2019 when the PD is expected to contest on its own steam.

The party, who elected Anthony Buttigieg as its leader this week instead of MP Marlene Farrugia, said it would formally become a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) at the grouping’s conference in Amsterdam on 1 December.

The PD will be joining the fourth largest political grouping in the European Parliament. ALDE has 66 MEPs in the 751-seat assembly and has often held the balance of power between the two largest grouping – the European People’s Party and the Socialists and Democrats.

Buttigieg yesterday led a delegation that included PD’s two MPs, Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia, in a meeting with ALDE vice president Timothy Dooley.

PD made history in the last election when it elected two MPs after its candidates contested on the Nationalist Party list as part of the Forza Nazzjonali alliance.

The PN is affiliated with the EPP while the Labour Party is a member of the S&D. Alternattiva Demokratika is affiliated with the European Green Party.