Labour and Nationalist parties collect €3.3 million in 2021 televised fund raisers

The Labour and Nationalist parties collect €1 million between them over the past days bringing the total of funds raised this year in fund raising marathons to €3.3 million

The Labour Party (left) collected €580,000 in a televised fund raising marathon last weekend, while the Nationalist Party (right) collected €432,000 in a similar activity on 8 December
The Labour Party (left) collected €580,000 in a televised fund raising marathon last weekend, while the Nationalist Party (right) collected €432,000 in a similar activity on 8 December

Fund raising activities by the main political parties collected €1 million in donations over the past week, bringing the total amount raised this year to €3.3 million.

Throughout the whole of 2021, the Labour Party collected €1.9 million through three fund raising telethons, while the Nationalist Party collected €1.4 million.

The amounts include the money raised in two telethons that happened over the past seven days, which saw both parties raise just over €1 million between them.

The PL collected €577,221 last weekend, while the PN collected €431,847 in a telethon organised on Wednesday’s public holiday.

The marathons, broadcast on the TV stations of the respective parties, are a jamboree of entertainment and political propaganda. They are also used by party candidates and MPs to show off how much money they managed to collect from their districts on behalf of the party.

Although both parties claim the bulk of money raised comes from ordinary individuals who phone in their donations, it remains unclear what the level of contributions by commercial and business interests is.

This is the last full year before the country heads to the polls in 2021 when the parties will be expected to spend lavishly on their electoral campaigns.

The political fund raisers of the past week kick off the traditional Christmas and New Year charity fund raisers that include L-Istrina and the Dar tal-Providenza telethons.