I was recently speaking to a friend of mine who is involved in politics and who has the qualities to become a very valid politician were he to contest for some major political post. I asked him why he never considered contesting national elections, perhaps even the European Parliament elections. His answer highlighted a worrying trend in Maltese politics which, in my opinion, requires more reflection and open discussion. “I simply don’t have the money to compete,” my friend told me.

It is, indeed, worrying that personal political campaigning in Malta is, little by little, becoming similar to that in such countries as the United States. Before contesting for any political post, one has to consider whether one has the considerable amount of funds necessary to wage a successful personal campaign. In my opinion, this is a new and negative phenomenon in Maltese politics because, if we go on like this, contesting for political posts will eventually become restricted to the relatively few citizens who can afford it. This, in turn, will lead to wastage of political talent as more-gifted but financially-poorer candidates will be forced to remain on the sidelines for lack of funds.

While it is true that many resourceful political candidates find sponsors for their campaigns, it is also true that such sponsors only cover a fraction of the costs involved in mounting these candidates’ personal political campaigns. Obviously, the higher the post contested, the higher are the costs involved in campaigning.

As a person actively involved in politics, I can vouch for the fact that I am not exaggerating when I say that political campaigning has become the domain of the rich. Take the European Parliament Elections as an example. Several candidates are spending enormous amounts of money on propaganda for their campaigns. Advertisements in local newspapers, glossy leaflets posted to every home in Malta and Gozo, receptions for a substantial number of people, you name it. What worries me most, however, is the fact that this phenomenon has also become common in all the other types of personal political campaigning. Huge amounts of money are also spent by candidates to get elected to the House of Representatives. The ceiling placed on candidates’ personal expenditure is openly ignored by the majority of political candidates.

Even intra-party personal campaigns such as those for leadership posts have become costly affairs. There have even been cases, albeit still relatively few in number but on the increase, where candidates for Local Councils have organized get-togethers, at their own cost, for their potential voters.

So, readers will ask : “Is there any solution to this problem?” I am afraid that there is no easy solution. Obviously, the answer would be to set a realistic ceiling on candidates’ personal expenditure, not some ridiculous sum as in the past but an amount that truly reflects today’s realities. Then, this would have to be enforced on all contestants. This is where problems crop up because to enforce such a limitation on personal expenditure in a political campaign would be very difficult. The main problem lies in the fact that it would be very hard to prove that a particular candidate has spent more than the amount permitted. Still, I believe that some sort of control in this direction would, at least, force candidates to cut down on the most exorbitant expenses.

We cannot afford wastage of talent in Maltese politics, especially due to the financial aspects of personal campaigning. What do you think?