Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1107757
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 APRIL 2019 NEWS EUROPEAN ELECTIONS A battle is on for that part of the Nationalist vote which still shuns party leader Adrian Delia and craves for a different Op- position. The latest MaltaToday Survey shows that 22% of PN voters in 2017 are today undecided, dou- ble the amount of PL voters in the same position. A further 13% of PN voters would not vote, compared to 9% of PL vot- ers. A lazy analysis would suggest that most of these voters belong to the so-called 'Daphne crowd' – the followers of a constella- tion of groups advocating for 'rule of law' who consider De- lia as Joseph Muscat's "useful idiot". Yet a deeper analysis suggests that this category includes a wide cross-section of voters, in- cluding moderates, who though deeply concerned by rule of law issues, do not identify with Caruana Galizia's divisive leg- acy. The group probably con- tains floating voters and even former Labour and Alternattiva Demokratika voters who voted PN in 2017 simply because they were shocked by Panamagate. It may also include PN vot- ers who were disoriented by the conclusions of the Egrant inquiry and who may even be warming up to Labour. This group of voters is now being presented with three electoral options, namely vot- ing for the Partit Demokratiku, voting for independent candi- date Arnold Cassola and voting for the David Casa and Roberta Metsola tandem. The Metsola-Casa tandem Blogger Manuel Delia recently published a letter by a reader inviting the entire constella- tion of activist groups and the Caruana Galizia family to vote for David Casa and Roberta Metsola. The latter warned that "nothing could please Labour more [than] the behaviour of the Daphne-loyal supporters who are planning to either ab- stain or vote for independent candidates". Some of those replying to De- lia's guest post noted that they may well achieve the same re- sult by giving their first prefer- ence to the PD or Cassola and then proceed to vote for Casa and Metsola. The Forza Nazzjonali legacy While the Partit Demokra- tiku has historically identified itself with the Forza Nazzjonali legacy which is reminiscent of the anti-corruption campaign led by Simon Busuttil, the party has so far failed to leave a mark on the polls. The party's two male candi- dates come across as stuffy, traditional politicians, have not become household names, and remain eclipsed by the party's two MPs, Godfrey Farrugia – as of yesterday an MEP candi- date – and his partner Marlene, even if the latter has become less visible. The only candidate to stand out is Swedish-born candidate Cami Appelgren whose clean-ups and fresh ap- proach to politics may attract a younger constituency. Cassola's fourth attempt The PD's failure to leave a mark may have left some space for Arnold Cassola, who after disowning the Greens on what looked like a puerile disagree- ment on the disposition of young candidate Mina Tolu to discuss the abortion issue, has embarked on a strategy remi- niscent of his 2004 near-miss, that of projecting himself as a reference point for pale blue voters. The strategy was reinforced by the backing of four prominent figures, three of which clearly strike a chord with a category of disgruntled Nationalist vot- ers, namely former European human rights court judge Gio- vanni Bonello – who after being chosen by Labour to lead the commission for justice reform, became a vocal critic of Mus- cat's government after Panama- gate; psychologist Maryanne Lauri, a former member of the PN's ethics committee and a billboard endorser of the Forza Nazzjonali in 2017; and artist Debbie Caruana Dingli, who had addressed a vigil for Caru- ana Galizia where she spoke about a painting commemorat- ing the slain journalist. It is the endorsement by Maltese literary giant Oliver The battle for the PN's disgruntled vote A cohort of former PN voters is still undecided about the May elections: will the PN's new batch of candidates and the PD manage to win them over? JAMES DEBONO asks JAMES DEBONO DEBONO Although the PD is also fielding local candidates, contrary to AD, it has been more focused on MEP elections. While the Greens may not be taking any short-cuts in scrambling for voters whose support is at best temporary, they may well be investing in a future where green issues and land use issues are becoming more pressing 22% of PN voters in 2017 are today undecided, double the amount of PL voters in the same position. A deeper analysis suggests that this category includes a wide cross-section of voters, including moderates, who though deeply concerned by rule of law issues, do not identify with Caruana Galizia's divisive legacy