A fourth political party?

A new centre-left political party, spearheaded by independent MP Marlene Farrugia, is expected to be launched sometime this month, focusing on the need for good governance and the protection of the environment, two areas that certainly need addressing. Dr Farrugia and much of the media have referred to this new party as Malta's third political party – overlooking the fact that Malta already has a third party, Alternattiva Demokratika, which, however, has no MPs. Whether this new party manages to strike a chord with the electorate depends on many factors, but recent political history has shown that voters are not particularly keen to vote for small parties and have, since independence, overwhelmingly backed the two large parties. Alternattiva Demokratika's share of the vote since it first contested a general election in 1992 has varied from 0.7 per cent (in 2003) to 1.8 per cent (in 2013), and the party has never had a candidate elected to Parliament. It is also true that Malta's electoral system discourages voters from backing smaller parties. Dr Farrugia is well intentioned, she showed tremendous courage in breaking ranks with the Labour Party over a matter of principle, she is...

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