Tying the spring hunting referendum to the next local council elections could be the start of a diminished hunting lobby, according to Birdlife director Steve Micklewright.
“After the hunting season was suspended, hunters sent a clear message to the government that they would not vote unless they got whatever they wanted.
Postponing the elections was not very democratic and was too big a price to appease the hunters
“But the government seems to have drawn a line here and told hunters they have to comply or else the State just won’t play ball any more,” Mr Micklewright said.
He was contacted for his reaction to the government’s U-turn on a plan to postpone the March 2015 local council elections.
Instead, the elections will be held with the proposed referendum on spring hunting practices if the courts approve the vote.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat originally cited electoral fatigue and cost saving as the main reasons for the postponement.
Yet on Monday he backed down on the issue following a barrage of opposition.
The Nationalist Party objected strongly to the proposed delay, with leader Simon Busuttil drawing comparisons to democratic protests being held in Hong Kong.
Birdlife had also joined the chorus of dissenting voices, claiming it was a clear attempt to discourage people from voting in the proposed referendum, and yesterday Mr Micklewright was relieved by the latest development.
“Postponing the elections was not a very democratic thing to do and that was too big a price to pay to appease the hunters.
“The government seems to be taking a much more balanced approach here and changing its mind on something like this is quite significant,” he said.
Asked if he felt the anti-spring hunting lobby stood a better chance now that the vote would be tied to local council elections, Mr Micklewright said preliminary polling did not indicate that it would.
“So far it appears as though more than 50 per cent would come out and vote even if it was a standalone [referendum], and much more were very likely to,” he said.
Joe Perici Calascione, president of the hunters’ federation (FKNK), had urged the government to hold the referendum separately to the elections.
Yesterday he would say only that it was still premature to discuss the issue.