Malta authorities allowed 16-year-olds to run for mayor (3 photos)
The government's initiative was, of course, ridiculed. 
Authorities on the Mediterranean island of Malta have announced that young people aged 16 and over will be able to run for the posts of mayor, village heads and their deputies. According to the Minister of Self-Government Owen Bonnici, this initiative is designed to prove to teenagers that the older generation trusts them.
The government emphasized that 16-year-olds can already run for regional councils, but the mayor’s seat can still be held by citizens at least 18 years old. This misunderstanding will soon be corrected and the age of entry into politics will be lowered by two years. 
Malta is the country with the smallest population in the EU, but not the stupidest. Local residents began to mock the authorities’ initiative. The government complains that its project is drawing more ridicule than support. An online poll by the local Times of Malta showed that 97% of respondents oppose the government's ill-considered initiative.
It’s just that residents are a little familiar with local laws, which conflict with the initiative of the authorities. For example, in Malta you cannot get married at the age of 16. To do this, you need written permission from the parents or a court order. Will your mother allow you to become mayor? The same goes for a driver's license. In Malta they are issued only at the age of 18.
“The council meeting has been postponed. The mayor is waiting for his mother to take him to the office,” local residents laugh online. 
It is noted that in Malta there are 68 settlements and municipalities, the largest of which is home to 30 thousand people. The total population is 520 thousand people.
