I do not blame hunters and a sizable portion of the rest of the Maltese electorate, when they feel rather disappointed with their MPs.

These MPs, who have been elected to Parliament by the same electorate, seem to have put aside over 104,000 Maltese citizens’ signatures, by means of which the hunters petitioned Parliament.

Instead, they have accepted the relatively minor petition of just 40,000 signatures leading to a referendum which seeks to abolish the Maltese socio-cultural tradition of spring hunting, which today comprises just 20 half-days.

What is even more worryingis that if the ploy is successful, then both political parties in Parliament would be the ultimate losers. Equal losers will be the hunters and all the other Maltese citizens who believe in true democracy, where tyranny by the majority might be the end result.

Anyone can infer that this abuse of democratic tools is a mere means to satisfy the lust for power of a few extremists.

Lest anyone be mistaken, the prime instigators of this referendum are the local Green party, Alternattiva Demokratika. Seeing that they have never come close to making it to Parliament, they are now adopting this approach to dictate legislation and govern from outside Parliament.

Everyone, irrespective of political creed, should be asking whether this radical political party will in succession target other Maltese cultural traditions, customs and ways-of-life, as is stated in their electoral manifesto of 2013.