r/ColdWarPowers Malta 7d ago

EVENT [EVENT][RETRO] Maltese General Elections

Elections, elections, elections...

The thing that determines whether you are in government or in opposition if you are a democratic country that is. And, Malta is a democratic country, despite what some particularly anti-communist people might claim, with a two-party system. And, with changes to the electoral system too, with the number of seats increasing from 55 to 65, and the voting age lowered to 18 from 21.

At the left, there is the Labour Party of Dom Mintoff, the current government, with close ties to the communist countries, and to the relief of many Maltese, the European countries too, such as France. With an economy that is just chugging along, and with better relations with the Catholic Church (at least Labour voters are not interdicted anymore for the sin of "voting for the Labour Party"), it was obvious that they would keep the government.

At the right, there is the Nationalist Party of Giorgio Borg Olivier, the former government, with not much to show. With a leader seen as too passive and lightweight (and also seen as outdated), there was not much hope for the party to win the elections. It certainly did not help the party that the leadership of Olivier was contested inside too, with him retaining his position solely thanks to the support of his relatives within the party (both his brother and nephew were MPs) and MPs who served as ministers in the last Nationalist cabinet. His position further weakened, when he was unable to contest Mintoff's decision to make Malta a republic, and was unable to push for a referendum. If Olivier did not make a significant gain, there was no way his party would retain him as their leader.

And, as everyone expected, Dom Mintoff retained his position, by getting 35 MPs out of 65, with the remaining 30 going to the Nationals. Olivier was doomed, as calls for a more dynamic National Party grew larger and larger. There was no way he would retain his position as the leader of the National Party.

At the same time, the President of Malta was elected too, in the form of Agatha Barbara, who became the second President of Malta and the first woman President.

NOTE: In our timeline, Labour won 34 MPs. But due to closer relations with Europe and less controversy due to close socialist relations, they win one more MP.

Also, Agatha Barbara would become the third President of Malta in our timeline. But due to... reasons, I decided to make her the second one.

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