The election may still be months away, perhaps even a year, but it seems that the two major political parties are already geared up for the occasion.
Elections are always important for any country, but some are more important than others. For example, the last election held in April 2003 carried more weight because it came right after the referendum on European Union membership, and the vote given to the Nationalist Party confirmed the “yes” vote for the EU given a month earlier, sealing Malta’s future as part of the EU.
The coming election may not be as important, as there are no such big issues to be decided. But it will nonetheless be an election that will give the people the chance to decide whether to give the Nationalist Party a third consecutive term in government, or whether to change course and put the Malta Labour Party in power.
The leaders of both parties have, for the past weeks, focused their attention on their vision for the country’s future, and what they said will surely form part of their respective party’s plans for Malta were they to be given a mandate.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has spoken about six objectives the government has set as targets to be reached by 2015, aims which Dr Gonzi says are achievable because the Maltese people are capable of doing so.
Opposition Leader Alfred Sant has repeatedly spoken about the need for the country to change direction, and the MLP has itself come up with what the party calls vision statements that will find their way in the party’s electoral manifesto when the time comes.
Strangely enough, it is the party in opposition that has more to lose in the coming election.
The Nationalist Party has been leading the country for 20 years – it was on 9 May 1987, exactly 20 years ago, that Eddie Fenech Adami led the PN to victory after 16 years of Labour government – and this except for a brief 22 months of Labour government between 1996 and 1998.
The PN has also won the last two elections and, with the EU referendum having played such a vital part in the making of our country’s history, it was given support at national level three times in a row.
Since then, however, it is Labour that has been prevailing, first by winning the EP election and following that up with a string of victories at local council level. But these would literally count very little if Labour were to lose the general election again.
And this is why the pressure is more on the MLP than it is on the PN.
Another defeat for the MLP would be catastrophic for a party that has been in opposition for so long and was unable to hold on to government for the duration of the whole legislature in the only time they were elected in these last two decades. It will be difficult to see Dr Sant retaining his post if Labour were to lose again.
A defeat for the PN may lead to a time of renewal within a party that has, yes, a new leader, who might still go on to lead his party in spite of defeat, although it must also be said that the PN would then need many new faces.
What will people be expecting between now and election day?
The Nationalists will of course draw lists of their achievements upon which they will say they will base the country’s future. On the other hand, the MLP will highlight this government’s deficiencies and say they can guarantee a better future for the country.
It is always a question of who to trust the most. The two parties have a few more months left to convince the people that they are the better choice.