Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer was non-committal when asked if he would run for a second term in the European Parliament, saying he would soon announce whether he will seek re-election.

“The moment will come soon where I announce what I will be doing because there is now not much time (before the election),” Engerer said. 

In any case, he would remain active in the Labour Party, Engerer told Times of Malta at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. 

Sitting PL MEPs Josianne Cutajar and Alfred Sant will not be running again for the European Parliament, while Alex Agius Saliba will be on the electoral ballot come June. 

Engerer remains the only one of Malta’s four PL MEPs not to declare his intentions.

But whatever his decision, Engerer said his future lay within the Labour Party, adding that individuals who feel marginalised often feel he is the only one who speaks for them. 

“In the Labour Party, I have worked and remain the voice of the most marginalised. For example, I speak for a 13-year-old trans girl who finds hope in a person who can understand and represent her in the best way possible or a woman who, because of health difficulties, had an abortion. She feels I am the only one in the European Parliament speaking for her.”

Engerer said he also speaks on behalf of “leftist environmentalists” who feel they are under-represented in Maltese politics. 

“I will remain the person that represents them in my political work in the Labour Party, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next year and the year after that,” Engerer said

Contacted after a video interview with Times of Malta, Engerer said he had been asked by the Labour Party and Prime Minister Robert Abela to run again for the European Parliament. 

‘Everyone deserves a second chance’

Times of Malta asked Engerer whether he agreed with Abela opening the door for a political return of Cutajar and Justyne Caruana. 

Engerer said the PL should never exclude anyone but added that the decision to reintroduce individuals who were stopped from working in the party should be up for discussion in the parliamentary group. 

Pressed for his opinion on the matter, Engerer said: “I believe in second chances”.

“I have made mistakes myself; you apologise, pay for what you’ve done, and move forward. 

“The difference is whether you apologise and recognise you have made a mistake or not. When discussing someone’s return in the parliamentary group, this is what I will consider,” he said.

The prime minister hinted at a return of Cutajar saying that she had paid a high enough political price and it is time for her position to be “reconsidered”.

Abela described Caruana as “a person that the Maltese political scene has lost” as he spoke about news that Labour MEP Cutajar will not be contesting the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Both Cutajar and Caruana left cabinet over corruption scandals in the last years. 

Cutajar also resigned from the PL parliamentary group after author and blogger Mark Camilleri leaked chats between her and Yorgen Fenech. 

PL and PN are umbrella parties

Engerer described Malta’s political parties as “umbrella parties” for people who have different perspectives. 

“A diversity of thoughts strengthens political parties and lets them represent a wider range of people,” he said. 

He said the PL encourages a “diversity of thoughts”. 

“For example, on abortion, there are those in cabinet and the parliamentary group that agree with abortion in all circumstances, others who disagree with abortion in all circumstances, and others who are in between.”

There are also different opinions among the four PL MEPs, Engerer said. 

“Not just on abortion, which is a matter of conscience, but also how we look at the EU, and how we look at the environment. If you look at how we vote, we vote very differently from each other,” Engerer said. 

“We represent everyone from the most progressive to people who are less progressive to moderates and maybe even conservatives.”

Not too late for candidacy

Engerer said that MEPs already have “a lot of visibility” through their work. That means that sitting MEPs are already known to people. 

There is a difference between sitting MEPs and others who need to be introduced to voters, he said. 

“I think it’s important that, as people who are already in the EP, we give new candidates space so we can get to know who they are”. 

Engerer said that he expects more candidates to announce their intention to run. 

Asked when he will announce his decision, Engerer said: “Very soon.”