Our elections as tourist attractions

There are many places in Europe and beyond with unique events or activities in their calendar that are marketed as major tourist attractions. Venetians have their carnival, Bavarians have Oktoberfest, Pamplonians have the Running of the Bulls, the Irish have St Patrick's day and Berliners have the Love Parade. These events tend to be major tourist magnets, as tourists love to mix with locals and join them in their "celebrations".

If there is one thing in Malta that is unique in the civilised world, it is definitely our electoral campaign. Political parties go to great lengths to please their supporters and attract new ones.

No stone is left unturned to organise noisy and colourful mass meetings, shows, parties and carcades in a bid to rally voter support. Such events are huge crowd pullers and Malta comes to a virtual standstill during an electoral campaign. With the parties being so close in terms of support, adrenaline runs sky high.

Coupled with our suspense-filled manual counting of votes, a tense, nail-biting finish is guaranteed.

Tourists who get "caught up" on the island during this electioneering are usually fascinated by our political passion and talk to their friends about this enthusiasm of ours when they go back home.

So perhaps, the MTA should consider marketing our elections as tourist attractions. Even though they wouldn't be understanding a thing, tourists would certainly love the action and drama. After all, they love our festas even though many times they have no idea what we're doing and why.

One last thing: Money generated from this "political tourism" may one day be channelled to fund political parties and reduce their reliance on individual donations and their implications.

Makes sense? It does to me...