Suspending local elections to help out hunters?

Six years ago we at Alternattiva Demokratika had suggested to the then parliamentary secretary for local councils, Chris Said, to lengthen the term for local councils to five years and start holding these elections on the same day as the European ones.

We have now been having elections of all kinds basically year in, year out. So a break in the holding of these yearly elections would make sense. Unfortunately, our suggestion fell on deaf ears and life – and elections – went on.

A few weeks ago, during one of the usual Sunday speeches, in Nadur, Prime Minister Muscat floated out, out of the blue, the suggestion that local elections should be held once every five years, in conjunction with European elections. We were elated at the proposal. Holding the local and European elections on same day is a fine antidote against election fatigue. So, obviously, we cannot not support the proposal by the Prime Minister.

Muscat’s willingness to do away with basic democratic elections has shown the electorate that he is ready to play dirty in order to get his own way

But now it turns out that the Prime Minister has also other games in mind. It has come out in the press that in order to have local and European elections held on the same day in May 2019, Dr Muscat is proposing that the local council elections scheduled for the interim period should be cancelled, extending the present mandate of all Maltese councils from four to up to eight years.

This playing about with local democracy is not acceptable to us at Alternattiva Demokratika.

The excuse bandied about, apart for the  question of election fatigue which we all agree on, is that the holding of elections costs money. Oh really? So should we do away with the possibility for our citizens to decide on who is to lead our local councils for the next five years in order to save a million euro? 

I believe there are much simpler and quicker ways of saving these millions. Going against what they had been proposing for the past years, the Prime Minister and justice minister Owen Bonnici now say that they are against the state financing of political parties. Oh really? So one way of making a quick €4 million for the Maltese state is to make the PN and the PL return the €2 million each they got in the past 20 years in state financing and, of course, stop the €100,000 each they are giving themselves this year and in the future.

With this freshly acquired income for the Maltese state there would certainly be no problem in financing the local council elections scheduled for 2015 and 2016.  So, let us stop tampering with our institutions, Mr Prime Minister, and let’s be very clear: we do not play about with our democratic process. We hold the March 2015 local elections with a four-year term and the 2016 local election with a three-year term and, after that, as from May 2019, we can start having local and European elections together in May every five years.

That is the only way forward and not the abolition proposed by the Prime Minister, which is tantamount to a mini local coup d’etat.

But is money the real motive behind the Prime Minister’s reasoning? Certainly not. If it were just money, all he has to do is to combine a couple of ministries together or else eliminate a score of consultancies recently dished out and he would have ample millions for the elections.

The way forward is not the abolition proposed by the Prime Minister, which is tantamount to a mini local coup d’etat

The real motive behind all this is the Prime Minister’s erroneous belief that he can help the hunters out in the upcoming referendum.  Notice the chronology: On Sunday 1 June, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat suggested holding local council and European Parliament elections on the same day to reduce political campaigning. The following day, Monday 2 June, hunters’ federation (FKNK) president Joe Perici Calascione said: “I expect a standalone referendum.”

Was this move to eliminate the next local council elections a coordinated one, in order to appease the hunting lobby and give it what it was clamouring for?

Whatever the answer, I believe that the Prime Minister has strongly miscalculated  his move.  Through his fumbling about with democracy and through his willingness to do away with basic democratic elections he has shown the Maltese electorate that he is ready to play dirty in order to get his own way.

People might keep quiet, but they are not stupid. People can see through Muscat’s tactics and will rise up to the occasion. The Prime Minister might be well in for a greater surprise on referendum day as a result of his trying to mess up with their basic democratic rights.