Risk of political impasse
The country may be facing the possibility of having three or more parties in parliament. This would be unusual, given the way the two main political parties have managed to monopolise the scene in the past decades.
Unfortunately our Constitution does not seem to cater for this situation, and let's face it, why should the two main parties ever have contemplated this situation?
Most probably, this election will determine the real value and ambitions of Alternattiva Demokratika. They have been around for almost 19 years now, and the moment should be ripe for them to reap the fruits of their endeavours.
On the other hand Azzjoni Nazzjonali is a fresh party led by two very well known and successful businessmen. Surely the extent of their following is unknown but which many people would like to be able to quantify.
According to the Constitution, should a third party elect at least one MP, the factor which determines who governs the country for the next five years is no longer the total of first-count votes each party has obtained, but the number of seats it has won.
This could take us back to the unfortunate and uncomfortable situation Malta had to face following the 1981 election.
Although I feel that a multi-party government or parliament could be beneficial to the country, also in terms of culture and political maturity, this can turn out to be a political time-bomb in view of what the Constitution provides for.
I strongly believe that we should all keep this issue well in mind when deciding which party to vote for.
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Dion Borg
Feb 17th 2008, 19:42
Sorry folks, but the MLPN devised both the electoral boundaries and also the blatant undemocratic 16% threshold….and this for their own egocentric reasons. And from what I am seeing it seems that the PN especially, plotted this, to try and ‘scare off’ those who deep down feel they ought to support AD’s policies and no nonsense approach….after all we all know that the MLPN only have Malta’s interest at heart, don’t we?
Charles J Buttigieg
Feb 17th 2008, 13:24
Stop splitting hairs please. Look at it the way you like,Labour can not lose this time. Labour will surpass the 50%+1 very confortably. Stop blaming it on AD or AN. Blame the Gurus at Pieta for targetting Sant and projecting the PN as a one Man party who does not project the desired medern image anyway.And then you have the undenied accusations of corrupt practices........and the negative list is endless.
Joseph Briffa
Feb 17th 2008, 11:41
Well said Tonio... a real eye-opener. Given that the boundaries as drawn up favour Labour, and given that the amendments to the Constitution to ensure that the number of seats reflects the first-preferences can ONLY be invoked when just two parties are represented in the House, the presence of a third party in parliament might very well lead to a minority government like we had in 1981. The only way to ensure that this perverse result will not about is for those who voted PN in 2003 to do the same this time round. Voting for a third party would deprive PN of the necessary votes to get a relative or absolute majority of first preferences which could then be translated into a majority of seats by invoking the recent amendments to the Constitution. Let's keep in mind: that no adjustment of seats can take place if a third party gets a seat; and secondly that labourites will not vote for AD or AN: votes for these parties will only come at the expense of PN votes.
Please choose the reason of your report below: