What Gozitans wanted : Gozitans debating in Parliament

Abstract

Gozitans add up to almost 40,000 out of the whole population of the Maltese Islands. This significant amount of people that reside on an island with its’ own unique characteristics, contribute to different concerns and interests than their counterparts that live in Malta. Therefore, Gozitans strongly feel that the only fit people that can represent them in Parliament are fellow Gozitans. This dissertation seeks to explore why the term “What Gozitans wanted: Gozitans debating in Parliament” is so important and meaningful. The subjects that Gozitan MP’s intervened upon explain the importance of this term. The subjects that were brought up were all of considerable interest to Gozitans, and the decisions taken affected them closely in some way or another. Subjects varied from, the membership of Malta into the European Union, accessibility and connectivity between Malta and Gozo, the tourism industry in Gozo, and the day to day concerns of Gozitan residents. The present writer can say that over the years, Gozitans have benefitted from having Gozitans like themselves in Parliament. Apart from having a voice in Parliament, initiatives that were taken in Gozo were due to the pressure made during interventions of Gozitan MPs. The fact that there are Gozitans that represent Gozitans in the highest institution of the country gives the people of Gozo that satisfaction that there are people who share the same origin as themselves and therefore can understand and represent them better than anybody else.