Alternattiva Demokratika has long criticised what it deems to be Malta’s political status quo. Several figures from within Alternattiva Demokratika have long said that it would be beneficial for Malta to have a third party in parliament, and possibly even a coalition government.

According to Alternattiva Demokratika, such a reality controls the arrogance of the major party. One of the examples frequently mentioned is that of Germany, where the small green party of Joschka Fischer was in a coalition with Schröder’s SPD.

Ironically it is the same Germany which is today proving just how dangerous a third political party in the Maltese parliament could be. In Germany, the CDU/CSU obtained the most votes in the election, since they obtained 35.2 per cent, roughly one per cent more then their closest opponents, the SPD.

One would thus assume that the CDU/CSU leader Angela Merkel would become Germany’s new chancellor.

However, thanks to the small parties, namely the FDP and the Greens, we could very well see the party with the most votes remaining in opposition and the losing SPD remain in government. In the coalition scenario, getting the most votes is not the way to power; indeed it is getting the biggest coalition that is more important.

Imagine this scenario in Malta: an election in which neither the PN nor the MLP get 50 per cent plus one of the vote. Imagine that in the same election, AD manages to elect an MP. The PN has more votes than any other party but the MLP has more seats in parliament. If the MLP and AD form a coalition in such a scenario, the PN, despite getting the biggest number of votes, would be doomed to the opposition benches. Would this this fair? Let the electorate be the judge!

Angelo Micallef

Marsaxlokk