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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 ARPIL 2026 A fixed election date in the national interest Editorial THE prime minister retains sole prerogative to call an election whenever he deems fit. Robert Abela has cited the "national interest" as his guiding principle for calling the election—every prime minister before him has done so. The truth is, hardly anyone believes Abela that his decision will be motivated by what is best for the country. Like every other prime minister be- fore him, the decision is very likely to be moti- vated by what is best for his political party. He will be looking at internal polls and evaluat- ing whether the passage of time will work in his favour to try and attract back to the fold disgrun- tled Labourites. If the answer to the latter is no, he will consider the prospect of a short, intense electoral campaign to cut his losses. Abela will also be looking at the Opposition to determine whether they are weak—scoring the biggest vic- tory possible is always something to relish. These permutations are only possible because Malta has no fixed election date. And inevitably this leads to election date speculation once the administration's term enters its third year—past the halfway mark. The media may amplify election speculation talk but this year, the Labour Party has tak- en steps that have fuelled the rumours. Filling Malta with billboards; holding a party congress to approve the guidelines of the electoral mani- festo; and Abela being ambiguous in his replies whenever asked about the election date; are not measures intended to dispel rumours. Rather they are the actions of a party revving up its en- gine because the election is round the corner. There may be a political motive in keeping the speculation alive. It keeps ministers, MPs and prospective candidates on tenterhooks, encour- aging them to work harder, meet more people and address grievances in the final year of the administration. Once again, this motive has lit- tle to do with the national interest and more to do with partisan interest. Election speculation may make for interest- ing dinner or wedding conversations but it al- so breeds uncertainty that can negatively im- pact business sentiment, especially in a context where a change in government is a possibility. Within this context, this leader reiterates what it already said in January that the country should seriously consider adopting a system whereby the general election is held on a fixed day. In this way, everyone will know when the next election is coming, sweeping away any speculation that causes uncertainty or gives the incumbent an unfair advantage. The only exceptions for an early election would be if the government loses a vote of confidence in parliament or if the prime minister believes it is in the national interest to hold an early elec- tion, which, however will have to be approved by a majority vote in parliament following the pres- entation of a motion. The latter will give leeway for an election to be held earlier but it removes the surprise element from the decision and will be subjected to parliamentary procedure. Britain did experiment with a fixed election date between 2011 and 2022 before the Fixed- term Parliaments Act 2011 was repealed thus granting the prime minister sole prerogative once again. What is interesting is that a 2018 study published in The British Journal of Politics and International Relations (Schleiter and Belu) found that, on average, a prime minister got a vote share bonus of 6% and a seat share bonus of 12% when they picked the election date, increas- ing the chances that they stayed in office. To our knowledge there is no such study quan- tifying the advantage gained by the governing party in Malta through the power of incumben- cy. But we all know about the magical things that tend to happen on election eve. In this sense, a fixed election date could cre- ate a more level playing field because it makes it possible to introduce laws that curb a gov- ernment's power of incumbency in the run-up. In this way, rushed decisions on the eve of an election to appease and accommodate voter re- quests—some of which are undeserving—can be eliminated. But a fixed date also makes sense to better reg- ulate spending by candidates and political par- ties before the election campaign actually kicks off. As things stand today, a candidate can start spending money on their personal campaign in advance but for legal purposes only declare the amounts spent after the election is called. We believe that a fixed election date is more democratic than the current haphazard scenario that favours the partisan interest over the na- tional interest. Quote of the Week "The election will happen when, in my discretion and judgment, the national interest dictates that an election should be held." Prime Minister Robert Abela when asked to dispel rumours that an election is imminent. MaltaToday 10 years ago After Hillman resigned, De Marco paid Sladden bill for 2011 houseworks 17 April 20216 ONE of the businessmen caught in the eye of the storm unleashed by the Panama Papers, had his company Redmap Constructions car- ry out €34,000 in works on properties owned by Nationalist Party deputy leader Mario de Marco back in 2011, as well as for some Allied Newspapers officials. But the former junior minister never paid for the works. Until last month – when Redmap was thrust into the news after its owner, Pierre Sladden, was revealed to have used offshore firms in the British Virgin Islands for a €900,000 transaction. Sladden's Redmap had been subcontracted by construction companyBlokrete to carry out works on the new Progress Press premises in Mriehel, acquired in 2009 by the Allied group, publishers of The Times and The Sunday Times. De Marco is a member of the Strickland Foun- dation, which owns 78% of Allied Newspapers. But MaltaToday is informed that De Mar- co asked Sladden for an invoice on the works Redmap carried out, after the Allied group in March launched an inquiry into alleged bribes paid to its former managing director, Adrian Hillman. The invoice was issued last month for works started in 2011, and payments were effected in three separate instalments over March and April. De Marco has told MaltaToday that Redmap was engaged for minor works on his Naxxar property which are still ongoing. "Works have been carried out interruptedly and sporadical- ly over a period of time with some work carried out also last year as I am in no rush for comple- tion. Works are still not complete. My wife and I have regularly asked for an invoice in respect of works carried out but the contractor insist- ed that the invoice be made once the works are complete." [...]