Election History Bites | The elusive fourth victory

Part 22 | The Labour Party is gunning for its fourth election victory in a row but historically it has always been three strikes and out for every political party with consecutive wins

27 May 2026, 8:06am
by Kurt Sansone

1 min read

The late Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici flashing four fingers to indicate the Labour Party’s yearning for its fourth election victory in 1987 that never materialised because the Nationalist Party won

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The longest successive winning streak—by which we mean the party that gets to form the government—has been three elections and this has happened four times so far.

The first time this happened was in the 1950, 1951 and 1953 elections when the Nationalist Party, first under Enrico Mizzi and then George Borg Olivier, headed three short-lived coalition governments with the Malta Workers Party.

The second time this happened was in the 1971, 1976 and 1981 elections when the Labour Party under Dom Mintoff emerged victorious. Halfway through the 1981 legislature, Mintoff stepped down as prime minister, making way for Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.

The third time this happened was in 1998, 2003 and 2008, when the PN headed by Eddie Fenech Adami and later Lawrence Gonzi won a trio of elections.

The Labour Party under Joseph Muscat broke the PN’s streak in 2013 when it emerged victorious at the polls. The PL under Muscat and later under Robert Abela, also won the 2017 and 2022 elections.

If the PL wins Saturday’s election, it would be setting a record of four consecutive victories, a feat that has eluded political parties since 1921.

Election History Bites powered by Agenda Bookshop is a series of election-inspired stories that will be published from Monday to Friday every morning throughout the election campaign

Kurt Sansone is Executive Editor of MaltaToday. He was formerly deputy editor of MaltaTod...