The Maltese have spent more than 70 years under the “illusion” that political satire is prohibited at law, Culture minister Mario de Marco said today.

Dr de Marco said he recently asked the Attorney General’s office to examine the law to see what amendments could allow for political satire.

However, the AG’s office replied that, over time, there was only a police notice related to politics which stopped being republished and did not even prohibit satire.

The police notice of February 8, 1935 said that: “No one shall carry emblems, flags or other signs relating to foreign political questions, or by any masquerade or other means make allusions to the same.” 

Dr de Marco referred to newspaper reports from 1935 which interpreted this as banning political satire, probably because the language question was seen as both a foreign and local political issue.

Despite political satire being commonplace in pantomimes and on television, and recently also practised in Nadur carnival, most people believed it was prohibited during official carnival celebrations. Even the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts referred to inexistent legislation about political satire in its carnival regulations, Dr de Marco said.

“The bottom line is that there is no law, legal notice or subsidiary legislation that in some way regulates or prohibits satire in Carnival. I know... it was a surprise for me too!”

Dr de Marco said he would now speak to the group of carnival participants to explain to them that they had full freedom to engage in political satire, obviously with respect to other laws.

“We will not censor or prevent satire in our country,” he said, adding that being able to laugh at oneself was a test of maturity.