iain
Lib Dem
Posts: 11,435 
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Post by iain on Mar 22, 2022 21:05:48 GMT
Next Saturday will see Malta, one of Europe’s smallest democracies, go to the polls. The Parliament is elected by STV (13 districts, 5 seats in each), but up to 4 top-up seats can be handed out to make the final result more proportional. The two main parties are Labour - working-class, left-wing, historically pro-British - and Nationalist - middle-class, right-wing, historically pro-Italian. These two parties have won over 90% of the vote between them in every post-independence election, and over 98% in all excluding the first. The two have also won every seat, with the half-exception of last time, when ex-Labour MPs Marlene and Godfrey Farrugia were elected for the Democratic Party on a joint ticket with the Nationalists. Historically, turnout is extremely high, and the electorate very inelastic. The 2017 election saw the lowest turnout since the first post-independence election, as only 92.06% of people cast a ballot, and before 2013, the largest first-preference-gap between the parties had been just 5.2%. The past two elections have been historic Labour landslides, with gaps of 11.5% and 11.3%. Despite the shock of the 2019 political crisis, polling shows Labour on track for another victory - possibly on a low turnout, and probably not as big as previous, but still pretty large by Maltese standards. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2022 22:21:09 GMT
I think this ranks alongside Ireland as the country where I find it hardest to find any party to support
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Mar 24, 2022 7:50:33 GMT
I think this ranks alongside Ireland as the country where I find it hardest to find any party to support Greece used to be reliable for this. Belgium is too, despite more choice! |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Mar 24, 2022 9:09:11 GMT
I think this ranks alongside Ireland as the country where I find it hardest to find any party to support What's wrong with the Malta Labour party from the point of view of a UK Labour party supporter? Is it that it is described above as 'pro-British'? |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Mar 24, 2022 9:11:43 GMT
I think this ranks alongside Ireland as the country where I find it hardest to find any party to support What's wrong with the Malta Labour party from the point of view of a UK Labour party supporter? Is it that it is described above as 'pro-British'? It's not its political line. It's more the endemic corruption. |
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 38,925
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Post by The Bishop on Mar 24, 2022 12:39:38 GMT
Yep, up to and including bumping people off (allegedly)
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Post by minionofmidas on Mar 24, 2022 13:02:45 GMT
The idea that the Laburists (or anybody in Malta) are pro British is pretty out there.
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Post by Arthur Figgis on Mar 24, 2022 13:27:18 GMT
It's a shame STV is used, rather than voters putting a Maltese cross in a box.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2022 14:14:11 GMT
What's wrong with the Malta Labour party from the point of view of a UK Labour party supporter? Is it that it is described above as 'pro-British'? It's not its political line. It's more the endemic corruption. Though I can quite see why a UK Conservative wouldn't regard that as a problem |
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jamie
Top Poster
Posts: 7,054
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Post by jamie on Mar 24, 2022 14:42:33 GMT
I think this ranks alongside Ireland as the country where I find it hardest to find any party to support France has entered the chat. |
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Post by carlton43 on Mar 24, 2022 21:31:50 GMT
I think this ranks alongside Ireland as the country where I find it hardest to find any party to support I would favour supporting Merula I think. |
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Mar 24, 2022 23:26:26 GMT
I think this ranks alongside Ireland as the country where I find it hardest to find any party to support France has entered the chat. France keeps threatening to offer up the right candidates. But hasn't offered a good one since Pompidou. (avoids annual lament about NKM) |
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iain
Lib Dem
Posts: 11,435
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Post by iain on Mar 26, 2022 18:01:46 GMT
Looks like turnout is going to be way, way down.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2022 21:11:03 GMT
Voting ended about 10 minutes ago, counting will begin shortly
Ballot boxes will be opened tonight but scanning of the ballots will start at 9am tomorrow
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Post by minionofmidas on Mar 27, 2022 5:44:49 GMT
And given that it's literally scanning we'll know the results an hour or two later.
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Post by minionofmidas on Mar 27, 2022 7:58:49 GMT
Turnout was an anemic 85.5%. Well, anemic by Maltese standards.
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iain
Lib Dem
Posts: 11,435
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Post by iain on Mar 27, 2022 8:36:26 GMT
Pretty diabolical turnout. Everything is pointing to another landslide for Labour.
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Post by rcronald on Mar 27, 2022 8:54:17 GMT
Pretty diabolical turnout. Everything is pointing to another landslide for Labour. A Third way party gets another landslide with low turnout, sounds familiar? |
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Post by minionofmidas on Mar 27, 2022 9:10:13 GMT
1st pref margin "in the high 30s" expected. That's thousands of raw votes, out of 300k cast.
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 38,925
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Post by The Bishop on Mar 27, 2022 9:37:01 GMT
Looks like turnout is going to be way, way down. To around 85%  Is the "third party" vote as small as ever? |
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