Updated 2.25pm with comment by Agius
Cyrus Engerer and Silvan Agius are among the group of officials forming a new progressive political party that will launch in the coming weeks, Times of Malta can confirm.
Engerer is a former Labour Party MEP and a former Sliema councillor on behalf of the Nationalist Party.
Until recently, Agius served as a cabinet expert for outgoing EU Commissioner Helena Dalli. Before taking his role in the European Commission, Agius was the government's Director of the Human Rights and Integration Directorate within the Maltese Government. Both Engerer and Agius are also LGBTIQ activists.
Speaking to Times of Malta on Monday, the two revealed they are among many others - candidates and activists alike - who have previously been involved with the PN, PL, AD, and civil society. The full list of names will be announced in the new year.
Times of Malta revealed on Sunday that a new progressive party - Partit Malta Progressiva (PMP) - with centre-left liberal leanings, is expected to join the political ranks in the coming weeks with a bid to rattle Malta’s two-party dominance.
Contacted on Monday, Engerer said: "But this is not about me or any of the other people.
"This is not about a person, but about a group of people, all of whom share the same values and principles. What unites us is not a person, but our principles."
Engerer said he was approached months ago to help with a cause close to his heart, and he is helping with the formation of the party just like he helps other organisations that share his beliefs.
Engerer was, until May, a Labour MEP but did not seek re-election in the last MEP election, saying he felt "politically orphaned".
He then joined newly-formed NGO Il-Kollettiv, which was formed to empower citizens to take up fights against injustices and in favour of the environment. It also said it would eventually set up a political party.
Agius said PMP is being set up to be profoundly different from other political formations in the country.
"We want to ensure that the people gain power and can hold government to account. We want to strengthen institutions and introduce processes for the people’s voices to be heard. This means that we are dead set against corruption and backdoor deals, and all for transparency and the respect for democracy and human rights.
"We care about workers’ dignity and guarantee good quality of life to all,” said Agius.
PMP unrelated to Il-Kollettiv
Speaking to Times of Malta, Il-Kollettiv secretary Wayne Flask said the NGO's collaboration with Engerer ended in August, and thanked him for the time he spent there, which allowed them to understand what they want going forward.
Sources close to the new party said it was not just Engerer who left the NGO. Three out of the seven people who formed Il-Kollettiv - including Silvan Agius - left the NGO to set up the political party.
Il-Kollettiv, meanwhile, said it still plans to set up its own party when the time is right.
While acknowledging the importance of new political entrants in a democracy, the NGO emphasised that its own political aspirations will unfold independently and organically.
"Our plans for Il-Kollettiv to eventually create a political party remain unchanged," Flask said.
"It will be done when the time is right and it will work for the public by understanding its realities, not reflect the identities of its members."
The NGO said it was not concerned about fragmentation and that politics is a duty, not a power struggle.
It criticised the existing political duopoly for creating a "political orphan" segment within the electorate and emphasised the need for representation that addresses the aspirations of these individuals.
"We are not worried about 'fragmentation,'" the NGO said.
"We believe that politics, just like activism, is a duty not a competition for power; where there is no competition there are no monopolies."
It also reaffirmed its commitment to remaining an independent NGO, even if it eventually forms a political party, and highlighted its ongoing work with residents and local councils across Malta, particularly its focus on a citizen-driven planning reform.
"Personnel changes have not hampered our activities or changed our plans in any way," Flask said.
"We are more than pleased that the work ethic and rejuvenated atmosphere inside il-Kollettiv have allowed us to achieve a lot within our first few months of operation, and the feedback we have received so far is the biggest encouragement and realisation that we are doing things the right way."
One year on, the NGO said it is celebrating successful collaborations with residents and local councils in 18 towns and villages.
"We are pleased that in this first year we have achieved what we always set out to achieve, that is, bringing activism closer to our communities. We have done so not only by resisting the elements that want to destroy these communities, but also by bringing together the communities – the grassroots of our society – and proposed ideas and set to work so that our activism can leave something behind, for everyone," the NGO said.