Malta Today Special Edition • 14 April 2003

Our victory is our honour and the people’s hearts – Harry Vassallo

Matthew VellaA disappointed Harry Vassallo yesterday poured scorn over the PN’s attempts to scare voters into not giving their second preference vote to AD.

Addressing the media shortly after the announcement of the Nationalist victory, AD party executives had by the middle of the day already realised the green party had achieved a below par result.

Vassallo said that whilst the election was a great satisfaction for those wanting EU membership, the PN’s directive to its supporters not to vote AD in their second preference had been ‘disappointing’.

"It was a great disappointment for many Maltese. This campaign was humiliating for a party that always claimed to follow political ethics and claimed the high moral ground.

"Many Nationalists will feel disappointed and let down that they were not given the chance to give their second preference vote to AD - a vote of sympathy to AD without creating any danger to EU membership or the PN."

Third party blues

Vassallo said the fact that the Maltese had failed to elect a third party for another five years to come was a very serious factor. The green party, he said, had endured this disappointment for the past elections, but Malta had once again forgone a more pluralist society.

He said Malta was the only European country with two parties in government, saying it was humiliating for the country.

"It was a great disappointment that we were accused of seeking our political ambitions in this election. I thank the thousands of Maltese who welcomed us in their homes. I am sorry they were denied the opportunity of voting for us. This is a lack of respect, a lack of respect for democratic values."

AD suffered a great debacle when after four weeks of campaigning for second preference votes, Prime Minister Fenech Adami told PN supporters not to give their number twos to AD.

Following the referendum, AD and the PN had engaged in talks on a pro-EU alliance for the election, in order to seal all pro-EU votes into one basket.

Vassallo said the PN had offered AD a form of compensation for it not to contest: "We found this to be an insolent offer, which did not recognise our right as a political party to contest the elections, especially since we offered the PN all our votes to be counted with the PN’s in such a way so there would be no danger in this election."

Working towards Europe

The AD chairperson, flanked by the Green Party’s executive committee, said it was important that all Maltese now had to work towards the consolidation of European accession.

"Alternattiva Demokratika will work to have a united country working within this project that is the EU. I hope that everyone will rise to the challenge. We never said membership would be an easy journey, which is why we have to work together to make this project a success", Vassallo said.

"We always knew that in this election AD would win. Not through votes, but by winning the people’s hearts and minds. Our challenge now is to strengthen the party’s structure into one that enjoys wide support. This will help us work for greater pluralism in our country.

"Today it is clearer how much we need a third party. The victory we won today is that Malta has recognised that the results AD achieved to date where those of a small party strangled in between two large parties."

matthew@maltamag.com