MPs should never vote against their party – Alfred Sant

MPs should either toe the party line or resign, former Prime Minister Alfred Sant says.

8 September 2013, 12:00am
by James J. Piscopo

2 min read

MPs who disagree with their own party should not vote against the party line, former Labour prime minister Afred Sant said.

In an interview with Sunday newspaper Illum, the European Parliament election candidate said that in "parliamentary democracies" parties should take a stand following an internal debate and all MPs should toe the party line in solidarity and unity.

Otherwise, Sant added, parliamentary democracy would be based on MPs and not parties.

Sant's term as Prime Minister came to a premature end in 1998 after his nemesis and predecessor Dom Mintoff voted against the Labour government.

He stressed that voting against the party line is dishonest and if an MP disagrees with the party, then the only solution is to resign from parliament.

Sant says he’s not taking the EP elections for granted. “I’m not considering myself as the star candidate. In the last five years I kept a low profile and thus I have to start from scratch. That’s why I’m planning door-to-door campaigns as well,” he insists.

The former Labour leader lost the 2008 election by the slimmest of majorities. When asked about his initial reaction, Sant shrugs off and says that was destined to be. He reiterates that Labour did what it could but could not overcome several factors, such as clientelism and the power of incumbency. He does not believe Jason Micallef’s performance, as secretary general, was harmful to the party’s chances.

During the interview, he also describes Gonzi’s leadership as “completely wrong, politically and economically incorrect. With his politics based on cliques, he could not go far.”

The former Prime Minister says he has “no regrets” over decisions he took during his political career, even though he admits some strategies and tactics could have been better.

Read more in today's edition of Illum

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Dr.Sant, fid-dibattitu li kellek fil-8/6/98, ma Dr. Austin Gatt, mist.parl. 14066,hareg bic-car li int sraqt l-Inkjesta Muscat Azzoppardi ghal ragunijiet ulterjuri,cioe' biex ma jinkixfux minn kien imdahhal fil-frame-up ta', missieri, Karm Grima.Issa b'hekk tfajt lilna, ulied Grima f'abbiss ta' gideb min-nahha ta' kemm tal-gvern prezenti u kemm tal-Partit Nazzjonalista li ma jridux li jinkixef xejn. Infatti ghalhekk Dr. EFA heba din l-inkjesta fil-1990, ghax hu kien konsapevoli ghall-irvellijiet li inqalghu fil-15/10/1979.Int,bhala missier, jiddispjacik li sraqt din l-Inkjesta u jekk iva ibghatli kopja taghha ghax naf li ghandek tlitt kopji.

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I am very surprised that an erudite gentlemen like Dr. Alfred Sant is clinging to this outdated feature of Maltese politics, i.e. that MPs should never vote against their party. Why should Maltese democracy be any different from that of other Western countries, where MPs vote against their own party on a regular basis? MPs should vote according to their conscience. I do not want MPs who are mere puppets. A rubber stamp parliament is definitely not what Malta deserves. MPs should have the integrity to stand up and be counted when the party becomes corrupt, as was the case during the time of Wenzu Mintoff, and as was the case during the time of Dr. Franco Debono.

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I fully dont agree with him... And with this vision will definatel not vote for him in the european MPs election.

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"MPs who disagree with their own party should not vote against the party line, former Labour prime minister Afred Sant said." He would say that wouldn't he.

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"Otherwise, Sant added, parliamentary democracy would be based on MPs and not parties." Parliamentary democracy IS based on MPs. Otherwise there is no point in their having an individual vote, which puts the more influential people in a party in control of government; ie open to abuse. The freedom to vote against your party is what balances such abuse and keeps it in check. If parties actually still had ideologies and stood for something rather than being populist, then it makes sense for MP's to have to toe the party line because they backed a party with a specific set of ideals which guide party decisions. That is not the case anymore with the populist PN & PL. MP's should toe the COUNTRY line. Not the party line.

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I absolutely disagree. MPs should not vote against the electoral manifesto or program, because that was what they were elected on, but on anything not on there they should vote according to their conscience and the party shouldn't even tell them anything about how to vote. It's the MPs who were elected by the people, not the party executive.

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"MPs should never vote against their party – Alfred Sant". Spoken like a true dictator.

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1. Never say never. 2. Using a one seat majority to get what you want from your own party is not fair, and punching below the belt.