Voters who are uncomfortable with having a 16-year-old as their town’s mayor should simply not vote for them, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday, in response to criticism of the government’s intention to change the law to allow under 18s to hold the role.
He was speaking during an interview on ONE, during which he also revealed that the government is in talks with social partners to discuss raising the national minimum wage in response to the impact of the cost of living crisis and inflation.
On the issue of teen mayors, Abela said that the proposed legislation will not change the way a mayor is elected, the candidate with the most votes from the party that received the most votes overall will still automatically rise to the position.
However, when 16 and 17-year-olds were granted the ability to vote and stand for local council elections, a situation arose in which if they happened to receive the requisite amount of votes to ascend to the position of mayor, the law barred them from doing so, as illustrated in the case of Carlos Zarb.
In 2019, a then 17-year-old Zarb received a high number of votes which would have seen him elected deputy mayor of St Paul’s Bay, however, he was unable to take the position until he turned 18.
Abela said this is not only a lacuna in the law but a situation in which the chosen representative of the constituents was not respected.
“The will of the people is sovereign and I believe it should never be hampered by the law,” he said.
“Now, if somebody doesn’t want a 16-year-old to be their mayor, then they are free to make their choice at the polls. But I don’t think age should be a limiting factor in selecting our candidates, rather I think it is a question of maturity which counts.”
It would be contradictory to face young people and tell them that they are the future leaders of our country and then place limitations when they attempt to fill leadership roles, Abela continued.
“If a young person has the right qualities to lead then why should the law impede them,” he said.
“Whenever we trusted a young person with responsibility they have always persevered and proven themselves.”
Minimum wage must increase
Asked about people’s struggles with the cost of living and the status of the minimum wage, Abela revealed that the government is currently in discussion with social partners to raise the minimum wage.
“As things stand, I don’t see the minimum wage remaining as it is, it must be increased,” Abela said, adding that his primary concern is facilitating people to be able to deal with the impact of inflation.
“We understand that this is a big challenge that cannot be addressed in half measures, otherwise people will suffer,” he continued.
The government is also actively working on solutions to revise the price of medicines and make them more affordable, he said.
Talks on mandatory training for TCN workers in hospitality
Speaking on the need to attract high-quality tourism to Malta, Abela also said that upskilling is essential to complete what he called "Product Malta" and sell the country as a desirable destination to prospective travellers.
He revealed that discussions are underway on potentially tying the work permits of third-country nationals who seek employment in the local tourism industry to completing courses with the Insitute of Tourism Studies.
“Foreign workers must come to work according to the needs of the country, but particularly in the hospitality industry we are looking to require them to have training and specifically complete a course at ITS,” Abela said.
“Those who wish to renew their work permit must also complete this training to have it approved.”
He said that while nationality has little impact on whether an employee is qualified to give a good service, training is crucial in ensuring that they do and urged employers to provide coaching in basic skills.