Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/494410
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 APRIL 2015 News 9 would be in celebratory mood. Instead Busuttil may well ride on the crest of the No victory by harp- ing on his vital role in ensuring a ref- erendum free of partisan wrangling. He may also learn some lessons from the rebirth of a coalition which shares a number of characteristics with the Yes to Europe campaign: a coalition of a large segment of rank and file PN voters, Alternattiva Demokratika and a minority of en- lightened Labour voters. It could also confirm that the en- vironment is Muscat's Achilles heel. It could also strengthen those ele- ments within the Labour party who privately criticise the party's record on green issues. Ultimately Busuttil gains very little from either a No or a Yes victory but he may score or lose points by the way he handles the result. ALTERNATTIVA • On the right side of history again? For Alternattiva Demokratika a No victory would confirm the party's reputation for being on the right side of history in all three referenda in Malta, being the only Maltese po- litical party to have said yes to both Europe and divorce and no to spring hunting. Moreover AD would feel vindi- cated for having initiated the ref- erendum by persuading reluctant environmental NGOs to join an un- precedented coalition with the aim of collecting the signatures required to call for the referendum. But a No victory would also mean that AD would lose one of its most important battle cries. After losing divorce in 2011, AD now stands to lose another defining issue, which attracted support from across the ideological spectrum. It could also confirm the percep- tion that AD can be effective from outside parliament. This is a double- edged sword for AD. This may well mean that people do not have to vote AD in national elections to benefit from its influence. But a Yes victory would be the most devastating one for AD. Not only will the small party share the plight of the wider green movement which would have suffered a demoralising blow, it could well be blamed by other envi- ronmentalists for leading them to a dead end. HUNTERS • The limits of an extreme makeover? For the hunting lobby winning this referendum would be a veritable feat bordering on the incredible. It would give them an aura of invincibility and confirm their standing as the lobby group which can hold the country's entire political class to ransom. But a Yes victory could also be seen as a vindication of the "make over" strategy which saw the lobby ditch- ing its machismo and bullying tactics in favour of a more moderate ap- proach. In this sense a Yes victory may also serve as a launching pad for the faces of the Yes campaign, such as Kath- leen Grima, who may go on to con- test national elections. Moreover if the Yes, wins hunters' federation FKNK would be under great pressure not to embarrass the PM and thus will be expected to en- sure that the law is observed. In this sense victory may be a double-edged sword for the hunting lobby. For while it would confirm the strength of their political blackmail it would make them more depend- ent on Muscat, whose ultimate aim could be that of sanitising the hunt- ing lobby by tweaking its excesses. Yet such an approach may well be contradictory. For while Muscat did stop the season in autumn his gov- ernment also had weakened enforce- ment by transferring experienced officials and by legalising trapping. In fact hunters are more likely to start demanding more than less after winning a referendum in which they started as the underdogs. It may be more difficult to control the hunting lobby in the case of a No victory. For this may well expose the superficiality of the makeover and convince hunters that past tactics which included threats and intimi- dation, were more effective. Moreo- ver some hunters may well feel let down by their representatives and thus may become even more difficult to deal with. But a No victory may also give hunting a new lease of life, as the referendum has actually weakened the abolitionist cause. For those campaigning against spring hunting have tacitly conceded the need of a sustainable autumn season. The abo- lition of spring hunting actually re- moves one of the most contentious issues between hunters and conser- vationists, thus paving the way for a durable compromise, which may well see greater cooperation between the two sides. With politicians becoming more reluctant to concede more to hunt- ers, fearing a backlash from voters, hunters may even become closer to the green lobby in the defence of the countryside against speculators, thus finding a new raison d'être for their militancy. In this way hunting in Malta may evolve in a more Europe- an direction, reflecting the increased cooperation between BirdLife and FACE on an international level. THE GREEN LOBBY • The big test Conservationists like BirdLife may well feel historically vindicated. For the referendum would represent the success of the organisation's educa- tional campaign which started in the 1960s to sensitise the Maltese pub- lic on the need to protect birds. The wider green lobby will also feel en- ergised by a No vote at a time when the environment faces its greatest threats since the 2006 rationalisa- tion, with many issues including land reclamation, high rise developments and new planning policies looming on the horizon. The referendum also enhanced the role of an activist media, with all three major independent news- papers editorially supporting the No campaign and MaltaToday editor Saviour Balzan returning to his roots (as an MOS and Zghazagh Ghall- Ambjent activist in the 1980s and a founder of the Green Party in 1989) to spearhead the No campaign. Moreover the government may feel a greater need to reach an un- derstanding with environmentalists who would have proved their worth in the referendum. On the other hand if the Yes wins, the wider environmental move- ment would suffer a demoralising blow which would give the govern- ment the impetus to push its agenda with the least opposition in the next months. A Yes victory would also expose the limits of the power of the media to influence public opinion. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt consequences of today's result MOSTA – situated in a quaint location, a large house of character with lots of natural light, set on two floors with high ceilings, central courtyard, spacious garage, entrance hall, kitchen, living room, laundry room and spare toilet at ground floor level. At first floor level one finds three large double-bedrooms (circa 5.6m x 4m per bedroom), en-suite bathroom, separate main bathroom and study. This property is complemented by a second courtyard with four additional large rooms which can be converted into an extension to this already spacious property or a separate flatlet. - €435,000 freehold. Call on 99434606, no agents please. AD would feel vindicated for having initiated the referendum by persuading reluctant environmental NGOs to join an unprecedented coalition Busuttil may well ride on the crest of the No victory by harping on his vital role in ensuring a referendum free of partisan wrangling Simon Busuttil