Mr Mark Scerri wrote a letter entitled The two party system (TMID, 22 October) in which he seems irritated by my comparison of what is happening in Germany today to what may happen in Malta in the future should Alternattiva Demokratika get their way.

Firstly, I would like to assure Mr Scerri that I have not lost any sleep over the facts which are to this day unfolding in Germany, although to be honest one would have hoped for a more decisive conclusion.

Mr Scerri claimed that the CDU/CSU block is itself a coalition. Such a statement is in fact incorrect since the CDU/CSU are not a coalition but are in fact sister parties recognised as one block in the German parliament. The CDU contest the election in every German region apart from Bavaria while the CSU contest only in Bavaria.

Mr Scerri speaks of a Germany which is indeed an economic powerhouse; sadly however Germany will now face uncertain times when it needs certainty for its economic recovery. The SPD-CDU/CSU alliance makes the German government too centrist for any decisions to be taken.

Mr Scerri then states: “On the other hand, what has Malta achieved with the two-party system?” Nothing much Mr Scerri, we just became an independent and republic nation, with solid social services and a thriving private enterprise and, in more recent times, a full member of the European Union. Not bad for one of the smallest countries in Europe!

Mr Scerri then goes on to say: “I would also like to point out that many countries in continental Europe are ruled by coalitions... but as is always the case in this part of the world, we Maltese always know better (not)!”.

Perhaps one should remind Mr Scerri that our dear friend and neighbour Italy has had 58 governments since 1945. Some governments in Italy have in fact not even lasted two weeks such as the Fanfani government in 1987 which lasted 11 days, and all of this is the result of the complicated and complex coalition government system. Of course that is not the only trouble we’ve seen from the coalition system in continental Europe. The coalition system helped the Extreme Right Winger Jorg Haider gain a place in the Austrian administration, it has helped Umberto Bossi gain power in Italy, and on several other occasions it has caused uncertainty and an inability of a government to take a decision which is needed.

Angelo Micallef

Marsaxlokk