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9 maltatoday | MONDAY • 10 JUNE 2024 MEP ELECTION 2024 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Third party vote: Strong but not enough to break the ceiling MORE than a tenth of voters in MEP elections opted for an as- sortment of independent candi- dates and third parties, denying an absolute majority to the two dominant parties. Compared to 2019 the third-party vote has increased from 20,334 votes (7.8%) to 33,498 votes (12.9%) Arnold Cassola also emerged as the clear front runner in the third-party camp with the sup- port of nearly 13,000 voters, a result which placed him in third place in terms of first count votes but which not enough to break the ceiling get elected in the final count. This was a significant improve- ment for Cassola over 2019 when he first contested as an inde- pendent garnering 2,127 votes. But the result was still a far cry from the 23,000 he garnered as an AD candidate in 2004 in a less crowded third party field one year after the EU membership referendum in which his party was a protagonist. It remains to be seen whether Cassola's strong showing will serve as a catalyst for the crea- tion of a new effective third par- ty or whether his failure to get elected would further demor- alise voters whose dream was shattered by the unbreakable block vote in both major parties when it comes to vote transfers. But despite failing to break the ceiling, Cassola managed to in- crease his vote to 22941 before being eliminated on the 34th count. And despite not inheriting enough votes to get elected, Cas- sola has left a definitive mark in these elections, thanks to a slick campaign which projected him as a competent and inspiring politician who appeals to mid- dle of the road voters, greens and progressives. Cassola's ability to appeal to a broad church may be one of the reasons behind his success. From socialist rebel to conservative voice The other surprise of this elec- tion was Konrad Borg Manche who on his own garnered over 5936 votes surpassing perenni- al far right candidate Norman Lowell. Manche, a former Labour may- or of Gzira, had shot to fame first by teaming up with Graffitti to reclaim the coastline of Manoel island for bathers and then by standing up against the central government's attempt to trans- fer the public ownership of gar- den space for the development of a fuel station. In this way he may well have attracted Labour voters disgusted by their party's subservience to the developers' lobby. But his regressive stance on various social issues, which ul- timately pushed him to declare allegiance to the European Con- servative and Reformist group- ing, could have also endeared him to a segment of traditional conservative voters including Labour voters who never whol- ly accepted Labour's progressive platform. Still, it remains to be seen whether Manche owes his sup- port to his well-known environ- mental militancy and popularity in Gzira or to his conservative positions with which most peo- ple became acquainted during the past few weeks of the cam- paign. Eggs on their face But with the exception of Man- che, MEP elections turned out to be a big disappointment for other conservative candidates, including conspiracy theorists like Simon Mercieca (232 votes) and the Ivan Grech Mintoff (220 votes) whose egg throwing stunts and odd cocktail of an- ti LGBTIQ and pro neutrality agenda failed to pay off. It was an equally disappointing night for Edwin Vassallo, a former PN junior minister and Mosta may- or best known for being the on- ly MP to vote against marriage equality in 2017 who ended up with 717 votes. Further to the right Norman Lowell-a self-avowed racial- ist and white supremacist, has seen his vote shrink from a re- cord 8,238 votes in 2019 to 6816 votes now, a result which is just a bit higher than the 6,761 votes he garnered in 2014. This time round despite presenting him- self as some sort of prophet who predicted the influx of migrants, Lowell failed to capitalise on public concern on foreign work- ers. This may be an indication that the appeal of Lowell's bi- zarre extremism is limited to a small segment of the population. Minus 3637 for AD+PD On the left side of the spec- trum, it was another disappoint- ing night for AD+PD whose candidates garnered 3505 votes, 3637 less than the total sum of AD and PD in 2019. The party was eclipsed by Cassola's stature and ability to keep the dream of a third party breakthrough alive. In the past the greens have shown a remarkable ability in the past to ignore negative re- sults and press ahead from one disappointment to the next one, but some serious thinking is now due on the future of a party whose brand may be well be past its expiry date. Much will de- pend on whether the party will manage to elect any councillors in concurrent local elections, but the writing is on the wall. 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024 Arnold Cassola 22938 5235 5891 2127 12706 Norman Lowell 1603 3559 6205 8238 6669 AD 22938 5802 7418 1866 PD - 5276 - ADPD - 3505 Arnold Cassola emerged as the clear front runner in the third-party camp

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