A late surge in the polls has come as welcome news for independent candidate Arnold Cassola who, in reaction to the polls, described himself as “overjoyed that the campaign message is resonating so profoundly”.
A Times of Malta poll carried out last week shows that Cassola is now the first-choice candidate for almost 6% of all voters, only trailing the frontrunners Roberta Metsola and Alex Agius Saliba and ahead of the 36 other candidates.
Cassola is not surprised by his strong showing, saying that “dozens of volunteers” had signed up to his campaign in recent weeks, each of them lending a hand to spread the word.
“We have some of the brightest editors, designers, mathematicians coming on board to make this dream a reality. The messages pouring in through my social media have been endless. This is truly unprecedented.”
Things will only get better for his campaign, Cassola believes, arguing that “support for the campaign is increasing exponentially”, bringing an end to the “epoch of tribalistic partisan bickering”.
“While keeping my feet well rooted to the ground, I believe that we will continue to surge.”
EU funds for environment, better governance: Cassola’s calling cards
Cassola says he is basing his campaign on “hope”, which he describes as the top priority for Maltese youth, saying he wants to restore meritocracy and “a level playing field that incentivises our brightest mind”.
His campaign slogan is Issa ċ-ċans (now's the chance).
In practice, Cassola says, his efforts as an MEP would be twofold. Firstly, he aims to “drive European funds towards restoring Malta’s beauty”, saying he is “keen to champion policy that invests in natural beauty and historical heritage”.
Secondly, Cassola says, “people are tired of poor governance”, especially after Malta’s “long and hard” struggle for independence and democracy.
“It is entirely intolerable that a small group of people make a mockery at the expense of everyone else”.
Echoes of 2004?
A veteran campaigner, Cassola came within a whisker of nabbing a seat during Malta’s very first MEP elections back in 2004.
Standing on the AD ticket, he had garnered a staggering 23,000 first-count votes, eventually falling just short of election, despite receiving three times as many top votes as PN’s David Casa and almost 8,000 more than PL’s Louis Grech, both of whom were eventually elected.
Cassola is hoping to go one better this time around, but his current polling number of 6% is still some way behind the 9% first-count votes that he garnered in 2004.
Could another 2004 be on the cards, where he comes within touching distance of being elected but falls just short?
Cassola doesn’t think so.
Admitting that “it would be tempting to draw parallels”, he believes that “a lot has changed in these 20 years”.
For one thing, Cassola says, social media now enables “direct channels between the electorate and candidate in a way that favours authenticity and purpose”.
Cassola has certainly made the most of social media throughout his campaign, tirelessly posting both to his public page, as well as to his newly-created “citizens watch” page, a sounding board where he posts complaints from residents about everything from unfinished roadworks to parking violations.
But ultimately, Cassola says, “Malta is in a very different place today” compared to 2004. Cassola will be hoping that this will translate to better fortune on election day.