In the small village of Dingli, a day’s work in the fields is wrapped up with a friendly thump on your neighbour’s shoulder, then heading together for a drink at one of the two political party clubs.

Contrary to what happens in other towns and villages, political views do not dictate which club one goes to.

“At times, there are more Labourites than Nationalists at the bar of our club,” PN club president Joe Mercieca said.

“We really don’t mind because our door is open to everyone and everyone feels comfortable.”

His counterpart, Ray Schembri, says the scene at the Labour club is pretty similar.

“Nationalists often come round to our bar and nobody bats an eyelid,” he points out.

Mr Schembri has lived in Dingli since 1991.

At times there are more Labourites than Nationalists at the bar of our club

It is not the first time he has walked past the PN club with his son and popped in. “I always felt welcome, as do Nationalist-leaning people when they come over to our club,” he said.

He was never one to judge people according to their political bias: “There is no red or blue... we help whoever is in need.”

Dingli is traditionally a labour stronghold, with a PL mayor and only one PN councillor, but there is great cooperation and they all attend each other’s events willingly.

Mr Mercieca, originally from Ħamrun, said it was not the first time that politics were discussed at the PN bar. There were plenty of jibes and teasing but never any heated arguments.

“Sometimes, I go to our club and the television is on Super One channel with customers watching some TV series or a quiz show. We don’t switch channels,” Mr Mercieca added.

During the village feast in August, both bars support each other if they go dry.

“If one of us ends up short of a particular drink, we cross the road and help out with extra stock,” Mr Schembri said.

“There is no political tension. I think it stems from the fact that Dingli is a small village, just like your typical Gozitan village.”

Mr Mercieca agreed: “People have their fields next to each other, they share their lives – builders, farmers, plasterers – they work side by side and they never let politics stand in the way of a good time.

“After a day’s work they want to go and have a pint of beer together. It’s not important where.”

There is also the fact that Dingli natives rarely move out of the village, which means everyone is somehow related. Mr Mercieca’s niece, for example, sits on the PL club committee.

“This is why even during election time, you won’t find people insulting each other and we do not hang banners from our balconies with slogans taunting each other.

“For as long as we’ve been here, there has never been political trouble,” Mr Mercieca pointed out.

He has lived in other localities and can tell the difference: “It’s not like this everywhere. In some localities you can feel you’re not welcome when you go into a club of the opposing side.”

Recently, the Dingli parish priest organised a ceremony to bring all village associations together. Fr Ewkarist Zammit asked each club to bring a token to present during the ceremony.

“We both went up with our party flags and then laid them open on the altar next to each other,” Mr Mercieca said.

The camaraderie is clear for all to see but do clubs only appeal to the older generation these days?

“I would say they are a gathering spot for people in their 40s. However, now we’re seeing a new trend over the weekends, when some youngsters tend to pop by before they head out to party.”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.