Wheeling the caravans away : post mortem

Abstract

Now that the EP election campaign mayhem is well and truly over, this column can resume in its hallmark outspoken fashion. But allow me to spare a few lines for an evaluation of some aspects of the campaign. Local election results are anomalous to say the least - while green parties made gains throughout Europe, garnering an impressive 52 seats out of the total of the 736 up for grabs, Alternattiva Demokratika fared badly. I consider this unfortunate, especially since I respect AD's green credentials. With the privileged position in the European Parliament to be occupied predominantly by the European People's Party-European Democrats (EPP-ED) block once again, having won about 36 per cent of all EP seats, my pledge to work within the largest block within the EP is more justified than ever, especially since it leads the ENVI (Food Safety, Public Health and Environment) and ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) committees. As the wrangling over which-MEP-will-sit-where ensues, it augurs well that the CULT (Culture and Education) committee is not sidelined and a Maltese MEP is assigned to such an important committee.