Political parties collect €1 million in donations

The Nationalist Party closed the initial phase of the electoral campaign with a telethon in which it collected €490,546. The two main political parties have promised to suspend campaigning during the festive season and re-commence on 7 January.

Yet following the explosive week which came to an end on Sunday, the 9 March election is expected to dominate this year's Christmas season.

At the end of the 12-hour telethon, PN leader Lawrence Gonzi said: "We are one step closer to victory on 9 March. We have to work hard but with the energy and diligence and the generosity of the people I am sure we can get there."

The PN's telethon followed the Labour Party's fund-raiser on Thursday in which it collected €414,182, meaning that the two parties bolstered their coffers with almost €1 million in less then three days.

Despite, Nationalist Party leader Lawrence Gonzi's comments earlier this week in which he cast doubts on the Labour Party's financing, saying that "Labour's financing arouses a lot of curiosity," the two parties' telethons defied calls for the introduction of a party financing law.

Last year, the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) urged Malta to publish a report on its compliance with two previous evaluation reports, one dealing with the transparency of party funding and another dealing with the country's legal framework on corruption charges.

Despite Nationalist MP Franco Debono's efforts to push through a party financing law, the bill he authored was shelved received tepid support in Parliament.

Debono had disassociated himself completely from the draft law sent to the Council of Europe's anti-corruption watchdog, insisting that this draft was already superseded.

The draft law on party financing proposed by the Maltese government does not restrict donations made by party members, and sets a high €10,000 ceiling for the publication of the names of other donors.