Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545285
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JUNE 2026 ANALYSIS ELECTION 2026 breakthrough that never came breakthrough. James Debono ref lects on why third parties face an insurmountable ceiling parties are simply saying they do not want to choose the par- ty they want to see in govern- ment. This limits their support to a small minority of voters who simply vote on the basis of political principle. This does not mean that PN or PL voters are unprincipled. In fact, many agree with AD- PD and Momentum on various issues but are not keen to lose their say in determining which party they want to see in pow- er. Those who are not interest- ed in making such a choice be- tween the big parties, tend to have higher expectations from third parties. Expectations based on principle The problem is that, to sound mainstream and appeal to the ever-elusive pale blue voters, third parties even end up dis- appointing principled voters, who are by nature finicky and selective. For example, Momentum's stance on abortion—allowing freedom of conscience to its candidates—only contribut- ed to disorienting pro-choice voters who consider this issue a non-negotiable civil right. This is also why an alliance between ADPD and Momen- tum would not necessarily re- sult in more votes because the resulting compromise could be off-putting for each party's respective core voters. How can they get elected? In the absence of electoral reform or a pre-electoral al- liance with one of the major parties as the Democratic Par- ty did in 2017, third parties have only one option to get to parliament—maximising vote transfers from other parties in particular districts in the hope of reaching a district quota. In terms of vote transfers, the most successful in this election was Arnold Cassola on the 10 District, who saw his vote tally increase from 795 in the first count to 1,016 in the 24 count when he was eliminated. Sandra Gauci also saw her tally increase from 513 in the first count to 950 in the 16 count in the 12 District. She even managed to inherit 117 votes directly from Alex Borg's surplus. But despite inheriting a sub- stantial number of votes, both candidates were never close to being elected. One enormous problem with inheriting votes is that vot- ers who want to help a third party candidate get elected have two options; either vote for the strongest candidate as was the case with Alex Borg in the 12 District or to vote for the least voted candidate in a big party list, something which few would be willing to do. Random transfers do not add any substantial number of votes. Third parties can still serve the purpose of rattling the system by increasing their vote share with the aim of pushing their agenda forward. But even that requires a criti- cal mass of votes. No party no vote What is also lacking from ADPD and Momentum is a base of activists who can spread their message in com- munities and who are willing to associate themselves with their platform by attending their activities. In short, they have to give their supporters a sense of belonging and make this fun. Third parties tend to pu- ritanically denigrate the big parties for their uplifting message and for entertaining and motivating their voters. But if they really want to bring about change, third par- ties must turn their campaigns into fun instead of doom and gloom pronouncements. The greens and Labour Another problem which lim- its the growth of third par- ties among a considerable segment of the population is their perceived anti-Labour bias, which limits their appeal to pale blue voters. While as a centrist party Mo- mentum can thrive in compe- tition with the PN albeit at the risk of being overlooked whenever a change in govern- ment becomes a possibility, as a self-declared left-wing party, ADPD is in an awkward position. This explains ADPD's diffi- culty in winning the goodwill of that segment of Labour voters who are increasingly critical of the party's collu- sion with big business inter- ests but who are still defined by their distrust of the PN. And while goodwill does not necessarily translate into first preference votes in national elections, it can widen the ap- peal of the party in local and European elections and pos- sibly help it tap second pref- erences from PL candidates in national elections. One way to win over the goodwill of these voters is for ADPD to build alliances with progressive Labour activists on issues like women's rights, reproductive healthcare, civil liberties and social justice in a context where Labour itself needs to open up to defend its more restricted majority in the next general election. Momentum, led by Arnold Cassola, was created in January 2025 and contested its first general election just over a year later obtaining 1.5% of the vote