While the reach and accessibility of social media has grown, current and former politicians stress that personal contact between candidates and constituents remains essential.

The Malta Independent on Sunday spoke to five former politicians, and two current MPs who are experiencing their first term in Parliament, asking them to detail how they had campaigned for politics in their respective elections.

Their answers show the evolution of political campaigning in the country from the 70s and 80s, an era that saw posters plastered on house facades and corner meetings, to today, where social media plays a growing role.

But the idea of having personal, direct contact with voters is a unifying factor.

Lawrence Gonzi

Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had first contested a general election in 1987, and joined Parliament for the first time in 1996. He left Parliament in 2013.

He described the difference between how a politician campaigns today and how politicians campaigned in the late 80s as "enormous".

"In those days we would prepare streamers to be hung over roads, and print posters which, unfortunately, both parties would fix with glue onto walls and houses, making a mess," he said. "Thankfully things have changed and that isn't done anymore."

"It was also a custom for candidates to organise street parties," he said, adding that candidates would also organise events where they would deliver a speech to local voters.

"House visits at the time were even more important than today, as the tools one has available to campaign with today were not available in the late 80s and early 90s," he said, in reference to the lack of internet. "The main method through which you could get your message across then was through these home visits, or through expensive mailshots."

The former Prime Minister believes that home visits will remain crucial to campaigning in the future. "They are not only of benefit to candidates from a vote point of view, but also for the candidate to get to know what the real issues in a locality are. When you speak to different families of different social status and age brackets, you get a feel of what is happening in that area," he said.

"This was important back then, and is important today. If you want to be of service not just to the country, but to the district in which you are asking people to vote for you, you need to know what the real issues are."

He believes that people dedicated to politics should conduct this exercise constantly throughout a legislature, and not just during election campaigns. "It is an asset for them and for the country."

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant had first contested a Parliamentary election in 1987 and was last in the Maltese Parliament in 2013. He was then elected to the European Parliament on two occasions.

Back when he first contested for a general election, he said, candidates would carry out their campaigns in a variety of ways. There were some who would have a "blessing" from the top of the party and would use that all the time, some who would write in the newspapers, some who would get exposure through television and radio at the time, which was government dominated, and the normal methods one would use in a district so that the people would get to know you, making contact with people in the different clubs, and knocking on doors, he said.

While the methods today have changed and become increasingly dependent on the social media, he said, he believes that Malta is so small that people do need to know a candidate by meeting face-to-face.

"While social media is increasingly being used, even the results of the last general election show that those who used consistent face-to-face contact did very well." Asked whether he believes this will change in the years to come, he said that while the importance of face-to-face contact has reduced over the years, he does not believe it will reduce as much as some people think. "Contact through traditional media has reduced, and social media is being used a lot, but I doubt that it is as effective as some think. You would have a following, but you don't just need that, you need to reach out on a personal basis, not least to the party grassroots."

Asked whether it is harder to be in politics today, he said that party central administrations exert a much greater influence than previously in selecting certain candidates and pushing them forward at the expense of other candidates, who are sidelined.

Evarist Bartolo

Former Minister Evarist Bartolo was first elected to Parliament in the 1992 general election. He was last in Parliament in 2022.

The main and most effective tool in his elections, he said, was home visits, "meeting people and following up on what they tell you. If you didn't show interest in what they were saying and how they asked you to help out, then it was counterproductive. It's not just about the quantity of house visits, the quality of house visits is just as important."

Nowadays, he said, communication has become more hybrid, especially with the rise of social media. He said that house visits are still especially important for the percentage of the population over 60, which is a large number of people.  But he said the level of use of house visits is changing from what it was in the past, even as it is becoming more difficult to conduct house visits because both parents work for instance.

The need for people to feel heard by politicians, however, remains, he said. Living in Swieqi, he noticed Labour voters feel upset that ministers did not come to see them and discuss what is going on with regards to the short-let situation for instance. "So no matter how social media grows, personal contact will remain important." Whether that continues to take the form of house visits or group meetings, for instance, the future will tell, he said. "Even if at least you answer the phone, call back, that is definitely better than simply being on social media."

The biggest challenge politicians have today is communicating with people aged between 16-25, he said, adding that parties still need to better understand this age group.

George Pullicino

Former Minister George Pullicino was first elected to Parliament in 1996. He was last in Parliament in 2017.

Pullicino said that when he was in politics, campaigning was based on house visits and home gatherings, where a candidate would be able to talk to people, explain what they stand for etc. "That was the most important part of campaigning and I believe it is still the most effective part of it today."

He said that television and radio were also a good way how to get a message out there. "Social media was also present during my final 5-8 years in politics," he said, adding that he would use Facebook and also Twitter to express ideas.

"I sometimes feel that today however, some local politicians use social media as if they are film stars or idols. For instance, a politician goes to a feast and posts photos of himself/herself as though the most important thing is he/she being there, not the religious event itself. I find that quite disturbing. Politics is about, yes, meeting people to discuss ideas and policies. Ideas and policies are not generated or developed by the amount of likes."

He believes that, even in the future, house visits would still be an important part of campaigning. "People want to get in touch with the politician. And most importantly, politicians need to be in touch with people.  Nothing beats face to face encounters.  People will give you their vote if they understand that if they have a problem, they feel that they can call you in order to share their problem with you. It's an issue of bonding with the politicians. Social media helps, but doesn't create that bond. The one-to-one contact helps you understand the real situation a person or a family is in."

Karmenu Vella

Former EU Commissioner Karmenu Vella was first elected to Parliament in 1976. His last year in Parliament was in 2014. He then served as European Commissioner.

Asked how he would carry out political campaigning in the 70s and 80s, he said that the main method of communicating with the public was through house visits.

"They were the most effective, and they remain popular even today. The media today changed, but home visits still remain important."

"Secondly, when I first contested, there used to be corner meetings organised by the parties. They were very primitive, in that the party would borrow a truck which they would park in a corner. They would then ask to connect microphones and amplifiers to a household's electricity system. A small table would be set up with around 5 chairs behind it, and all the party candidates of that district would take their turns speaking. Most of the time the audience was mainly made up of the canvassers of each candidate," he said. Vella admitted that he was not a fan of those meetings and would not go to them.

Another method used back then, which looking back he described as disgraceful, was that candidates would design posters with their faces on them and messages, such as 'vote Karmenu Vella', which would be plastered on building facades at night by canvassers.  "The following morning the complaints would start coming in. For instance someone would call saying they had just painted their facade and canvassers stuck posters on it," he said. "This was a dangerous system," he said, adding that on occasion canvassers for different candidates from different parties would run into each other, and they would on occasion quarrel. " At the time people would also use paint on low walls of fields with a message to vote for X candidate etc."

Candidates also made use of posting leaflets, on which they would introduce themselves. They would be sent out by bulk through the mail, he explained.

The practice of painting on walls, having posters plastered on walls, fortunately, were later stopped, he said, adding that it stopped making a mess of areas. The most effective methods of reaching people were through home visits, which he said continue to be used today, "and in later years if your party had enough faith in you and wanted to push you forward, they would give you coverage on radio and TV."

Eve Borg Bonello

PN MP Eve Borg Bonello is the youngest member of Parliament, serving her first term.

"Aside from being 18 years old during the campaign, I became a candidate around 4 weeks before the election, so it was a challenge seeing how to get my message out there. I also had limited resources."

"I contested so late because some people didn't agree that I should contest at that age, but people like, God rest his soul, Robert Arrigo, had really put his neck out for me to become a candidate."

"I used social media a lot, such as TikTok. I feel that before the 2022 elections Tik Tok  was not as mainstream as it is today for a politician to use. Nowadays it is mainstream. We used social media, like Facebook, a lot and tried to balance serious proposals while trying to be a bit light-hearted. Something I found very successful was that, since I didn't have the resources or time to rent a district office, I set up an open-air office. I would go onto the Sliema front, with a folding table and chairs, a banner and a thermos of coffee, where I would meet people on the Sliema front and talk to them."

She said she had conducted a handful of house visits during her campaign, but that if she had more time and had conducted more of them, she would have gotten a much better result.

Borg Bonello believes that the dynamics today in terms of campaigning are different than in the past. "In the past you'd have to go to the press and wait till the next day for it to be published, whereas now news is immediate. Social media changed not only coverage, but how you get your message out."

"With all that being said, I really do believe house visits are the most important thing. That face-to-face time, that direct contact... its two-way, and that is what makes it important. From the voter's side, they can meet the candidates and communicate directly their concerns and worries, and it is very important for candidates because we are the peoples' representatives. We cannot be their representative if we do not know what they are going through."

Naomi Cachia

PL Whip Naomi Cachia's contested her first general election in 2022.

"I was just starting out in politics, and it was about trying to find the right balance between the more traditional means of campaigning and social media, in terms of reaching out to people. We did a lot of door-to-door campaigning, going to squares and holding events, meeting people there and getting to know potential constituents, while promoting yourself on TV, radio and your personal Facebook page trying to find content people will relate to."

"As a first time candidate it is quite difficult because you are on your own and don't have a big team around you, depending on the goodwill of people who don't really know much about you. It was difficult in that sense."

"Next time round it will be easier because you are more of a familiar face, so the groundwork is there, but it is the same strategy in terms of knocking on doors when the time permits, and the use of social media which I believe has become very important."

Asked about house visits and whether she believes they will continue to be important in the years to come, she said that it is generational. "I used to think that they are not as important today as they used to be, but I think you can leave an impact through the time spent meeting people in their own homes. it is not very time effective though, so I tend to make a lot of phone calls. It is less time consuming than having to physically knock on doors, but the personal contact is there. The older generation do, however, appreciate when someone knocks on their door, and they look for that. It is different with the younger generation. I don't meet many younger people knocking on doors, so there is a generational divide in that sense."

Regarding her thoughts on whether social media use translate into votes, she said that if you have the right content and message one would get thousands of views, "but how that translates to your performance in the election is another thing and I don't have an answer to that yet."

She believes that personal contact is still the key. "If we lose that, we lose an essential part of our role. I will not get what I get from a house visit through a social media post. Making time to meet constituents will make you a better representative, as you will understand what they want and expect." She hopes that will not be lost in the future, but said it is easier to connect with the younger generation online. "However it doesn't mean that when they grow older they will not look for that direct contact with their representative. So far its about striking a balance between the two."