The Labour Party said this afternoon that it had no objection to moving the Carnival dates as proposed by the Ghaqda Partecipanti Karnival, but it was prepared to take the necessary actions if the dates remained unchanged.
The association this morning said the authorities should transfer Carnival from February to April to avoid a clash with the electoral campaign.
But the PN disagreed, and said it should be the political parties which should accommodate Carnival. It said it would 'take a step back' from its activities during Carnival.
The Tourism and Culture Ministry said it disagreed that the dates should be moved and said that would be detrimental to the tourism industry.
In a statement this morning, the Ghaqda Partecipanti Karnival said it believed that the best dates to celebrate Carnival would be between April 5 and 9.
It said that while Carnival should continue to be celebrated on its proper days just before Lent, it should be moved in 2013 because of the country’s particular circumstances.
In a reaction, the PN said Carnival should be celebrated in its proper time and it should be the political parties which should accommodate Carnival and not the other way around.
The PN said it would 'take a step back' from political activities during Carnival and allow families to celebrate the festival, which is an integral part of Maltese culture.
It noted that Carnival also fell during the electoral campaign in 2003 and at the time too it held back from political events.
It hoped the PL would agree with its position.
PL REACTION
The Labour Party said it was open for a solution which respected the wishes of the Carnival participants and those who enjoyed this tradition.
It said it had no objection to moving the Carnival dates as proposed, but it was ready to take the necessary action if the dates remained the same.
The current situation could have been avoided with better consultation with the Carnival participants, it said.
MINISTRY: WRONG TO MOVE DATES
The Ministry for Tourism, Culture and the Environment said the Carnival dates were linked to Easter and it made no sense to change them. Carnival was also a tourist attraction and many tour organisers would already have made arrangements for a February Carnival. Therefore, changing the dates now would be detrimental.
The ministry felt it should be the political parties which should accommodate Carnival and give it space rather than having Carnival transferred in order to accommodate the political parties.
It would be a pity if political activities had priority over religious, cultural and historic events.
The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, which organises carnival, said it felt Carnival should stay in its proper date - which next year will be between February 8 and 12.