Independent election candidate Arnold Cassalo has launched his campaign for the general election, calling on voters to cast their vote with the future of their children in mind, rather than what suits them today.

It is yet another attempt by Cassola to make it to parliament, having contested all elections since 1992, without success. 

Speaking during the launch of his campaign, under the slogan ‘We deserve better’ he charted his vision for the upcoming election which he will be contesting on the 10th and 11th districts. His campaign, he stressed will have a strong focus on a clean environment and clean politics.

Cassola referred to the failed promises of past governments to safeguard the environment and address overdevelopment and unsafe construction practices, as well as corruption.

Cassola wants to address over development and safeguard the environment.

He showed clips from a recent interview carried out by Times of Malta with construction magnate Joseph Portelli who did not mince his words when he said that, ahead of the elections, he would make donations to both political parties to ensure his needs were seen to.

Cassola called on voters not to cast their vote based on the basis of what suits them, like Portelli, but to keep in mind the bigger picture  - the future of their children.

Electing a strong Opposition

Cassola said this was not so much an election about who would be elected to government, but also about who would make up the Opposition. “It’s about the type of Opposition we need - a weak one that fights within itself or a vociferous one willing to speak up for a better society?”

He said as he called on voters to trust in the consistency he has proven over the past 30 years when he built a sound track record of fighting against environmental and social injustices.

I don’t have the funds to bring the Pope to Malta to launch my campaign.

“I don’t have the funds to bring the Pope to Malta to launch my campaign,” he said referring to the recently announced papal visit to Malta in April. However, he added, he did have the endorsement of reputable people in society - which he showcased in a  video. These included artist Debbie Caruana Dingli who said “the environment was broken by the PL with the complicity of PN” as well as authors Immanuel Mifsud and Gorg Mallia, musician Walter Vella and activist Michelle Attard Tonna. 

Speaking about the environment, he said that, while come damage was irreversible, it had to be stopped. 

Cassola wants a two-year moratorium on tall buildings to serve as a period of reflection on past mistakes and create better planning policies for the future. He is also calling for the law that declares the coastline public domain to be properly enforced and on the mapping of public land.

The former Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson is a veteran of the Maltese political stage -  although he has never been elected in a Maltese election, having contested both general and MEP elections.

But in 2006 he won a seat in the Italian Lower House on the ticket of Romano Prodi's L'Unione, netting about 19,000 votes.

Cassola broke ranks with the Green Party he helped set up over disagreement on how the abortion issue should be tackled in the run-up to the 2019 European Parliament election. He went on to contest that election as an independent, garnering 2,127 first count votes. He has since maintained a vocal presence on social media and has consistently asked the Standards Commissioner to investigate ethical breaches by MPs and ministers whenever these were flagged by the media.