2011 Divorce referendum

During the referendum campaign for the introduction of divorce legislation in Malta in 2011, Engerer joined the Yes Movement Iva Għad-Divorzju, Iva Għaż-Żwieġ and was also the leading spokesperson for the Stand Up campaign.^[15]

The long referendum campaign not only brought the progressive voices together but also led the country's conservative forces (including the Nationalist Party) to hold a joint campaign against divorce. Notwithstanding the religious pressure that was exerted by the Catholic Church on the Maltese population, the Yes campaign won 52.67% of the votes. Despite the electorate's clear vote, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi stated he would vote ‘no’ in parliament, against the will of the majority.^[16] The statement spurred Engerer to declare he would resign from the party's structures, if its leader and Prime Minister did vote against the will of the Maltese. Engerer stated that "Lawrence Gonzi no longer represents the Maltese population, he has committed political suicide and if he has the country's and the party's interest at heart should resign immediately."

Gonzi ultimately voted against divorce, which led Engerer to resign from the Nationalist Party on 15 July 2011 and join the Labour Party led by Joseph Muscat, who had personally campaigned for the introduction of divorce legislation and other civil liberties.^[17][18]

European Parliament campaign (2013)

On 8 June 2013, Engerer announced that he would be contesting the 2014 European Parliament election in Malta.^[21] He submitted his nomination to Labour Party for the elections on 5 August 2013, getting support from Minister Evarist Bartolo, Minister Helena Dalli, Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg, Member of Parliament Deborah Schembri and Gozo Labour Party spokesperson Ġuża Cassar.^[22] Along with seven others, he was approved as a candidate by the party on 21 August 2013.

Engerer's campaign, called Malta l-Ewwel (Malta First), was launched in Valletta on 27 October 2013.^[23]

In the week following his switch to Labour Party, Engerer and members of his family were faced with multiple charges opened against them by the Police of Malta. Such charges included circulating pornographic pictures of his former partner. Although government denied that any of the charges were politically motivated,^[24][3][4] a number of opinion-makers alleged that this was character-assassination of an opponent of the governing party.^[25][26] This version of events relied on the fact that internal police and court documents were leaked to the media before Engerer himself was informed of the charges by the police. An internal police inquiry later confirmed that the timing of the initiation of court proceedings was politically motivated.^[27]

On 31 May 2013, the Court of Justice presided by Magistrate Audrey Demicoli acquitted Engerer from all charges.^[28] However, he was sentenced to a two-year jail term suspended for two years on 8 May 2014. The decision was handed down by Mr Justice Michael Mallia in a 17-page appeals court judgment.^[29] The following day, Engerer announced that he had backed out of the European Parliament Elections 2014 citing that he did not want any bad light cast on the Labour Party.^{[citation needed]}

Joseph Muscat's special envoy to the EU (2014-2019)

In October 2014, Engerer was appointed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as his "special envoy" to the European Union, in parallel to the official Permanent Representative of Malta to the EU sitting in Brussels' Dar Malta office.^[30] He kept the role until 2019.

Member of the European Parliament (2020)

Engerer run on the Labour Party ticket at the 2019 European Parliament election in Malta and placed 5th from the Labour Party's list of candidates, with the party electing four Members.^[31]

When it became clear that Miriam Dalli would resign from her seat to be coopted to the Maltese Parliament, Engerer was elected on 5 November 2020.^[3][32]