Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/279808
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 MARCH 2014 3 News PN leads PL among post secondary educated 18-34 18-34 18-34 18-34 18-34 18-34 35-54 35-54 35-54 35-54 35-54 35-54 55+ 55+ 55+ 55+ 55+ 55+ PL PN AD No Answer Not Voting Others 25.6 16.4 2.6 38.2 0 17.2 29.6 24.2 2.4 33 0.6 10.2 34.8 27.8 0.4 21.9 0.4 14.7 Who will you vote for in MEP elections due on May 24? 18-34 35-54 55+ Joseph Muscat 48.7 45.6 45.1 18-34 35-54 55+ Simon Busuttil 25.6 25.1 30.8 18-34 35-54 55+ None 7.7 14.5 11.6 18-34 35-54 55+ Don't Know 18 14.8 12.5 Between Simon Busuttil and Joseph Muscat, whom do you trust most? 18-34 35-54 55+ Positively 48.7 50 45.5 18-34 35-54 55+ Negatively 7.7 14.5 17 18-34 35-54 55+ Neutral 30.8 29.8 33.5 18-34 35-54 55+ Don't Know 13.6 5.7 4 How do you judge Joseph Muscat's performance as PM? PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Junior minister 'open to discussion' on parties' spending during electoral campaigns Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Owen Bonnici (centre): "The proposals of the white paper are not cast in stone" MIRIAM DALLI THE government is open to dis- cussion on the capping of politi- cal parties' spending during the electoral campaign, parliamen- tary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici said. The junior minister met repre- sentatives of the Ghaqda Studenti Ligi (GhSL) yesterday afternoon, who put forward their own sug- gestions on the party financing law. Among the proposals, the students have called on the gov- ernment to review downwards the €50,000 capping as is sug- gested in the white paper. In the past, Alternattiva Demokratika had argued that any donations over €40,000 should be made illegal. In its recent propos- al, the Green Party also said the spending of candidates should be capped as well. The white paper proposes that the threshold for general elec- tions candidates increases from €1,400 to €25,000. In the case of candidates for European Parlia- ment elections, the white paper recommends a spending thresh- old of €50,000. For local council elections, a €5,000 capping is rec- ommended. But AD suggests that the threshold for local councils' cam- paign should be between €2,000 and €4,000 depending on the size of the locality; candidates for the general elections should not be al- lowed to spend more than €4,000 while candidates for the Euro- pean Parliament elections should not spend more than €20,000. "The proposals of the white pa- per are not cast in stone and we are open to discussion. Honestly I'm not seeing such a big differ- ence in the €40,000 amount being proposed by AD. But we will dis- cuss the proposal," he said, point- ing out that GhSL had been the second body to say that a €50,000 capping was high. Bonnici said he would be meet- ing AD to discuss its proposals. The party financing law will be passed in parliament before the House adjourns for the summer recess. The GhSL said it was proud to take part in the such an impor- tant reform, pointing out that a number of recommendations it had put forward on the justice re- form had been taken on board by the government. The students said they carried out a comparative legal study, comparing laws existent in Italy, the UK, the United States and Denmark among others. Replying to questions raised by the students, Bonnici said that donations from the same source but passed through different channels "won't be allowed". He explained that slicing up do- nations won't be allowed and do- ing so would be in breach of the law. In explaining why it was neces- sary to consult stakeholders on justice, including students study- ing law, Bonnici said a "humble justice" was essential. He argued that justice was not static, but that it evolved over time. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt