More than €800,000 were collected by the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party during televised marathon fund-raising campaigns last Tuesday.

It has now become a kind of tradition for the two major parties to hold such sessions on Republic Day, which happens just before Christmas, a time when people tend be more generous.

This year, the Nationalist Party collected €467,880, while the Labour Party collected €336,000. Both surpassed the amount that had been collected in previous years.

Looking at this from a narrow point of view, the money collected shows that people are in a better financial position than what is said, especially by the Labour Party. If people are in dire financial straits, the first thing they would eliminate is a donation to a political party. That the two parties increased the amount they collected last year means that things are not so bad.

If one were to widen the argument, it becomes clear that the more time passes, the more political parties have grown to rely on these fundraising activities to survive. Without them – and without other contributions that are handed in but are not advertised – both the PN and the PL would not be in a position to sustain their financial burdens.

The emphasis that was made on Tuesday by both political leaders was this – “give us the money because we need it to work in your best interest”. Naturally, the “interest” was different – the Nationalist Party wants to retain the government seat, and the Labour Party wants to return to power for the first time since 1998.

The question that comes up each time political parties hold such activities is the need to have regulations governing the financing of political parties. Time and again, we were promised a law in this regard, but this has not materialised yet. It is hoped that, sooner rather than later, the two parties agree to regularise the way they receive money.

In the meantime, both the PN and the PL had cause to celebrate with the money they collected.

What we sincerely hope is that, while it is understandable that on Tuesday the country was divided, it will be united on 26 December to donate money in aid of the Community Chest Fund. On that day, Net and One will not have different shows, but will join the national broadcasting station in one common effort to raise funds that will go a long way to help people in need.