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The Maltese are voting on Saturday in a snap general election called by Prime Minister Robert Abela.
Abela and his Labour Party are betting on economic stability, as the smallest EU nation recorded the fastest GDP growth at 4% last year. Malta has a very low inflation, and there is no real unemployment. Electricity and fuel prices are also the lowest in Europe and have been so for the last 10 years.
Abela’s administration has managed to shield the small Mediterranean island from global crises, especially from the immediate consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.
Opinion polls reflect this confidence, putting Abela comfortably ahead of his main rival, Nationalist Party candidate Alex Borg, a thirty-year-old lawyer who aims to become the country’s youngest leader.
Although there are concerns over environmental degradation, foreign-driven construction boom, and deep-seated state corruption, political analyst Andrew Azzopardi argues that many citizens prioritise financial security over political scandal.
The EU warned Malta over high-level corruption
Despite a highly critical Council of Europe report on institutional corruption, the island has a thriving economy based largely on tourism, online gaming and financial services, and many voters say its economic performance trumps all other concerns.
“We were poor, and under Labour we are rich” said 72-year-old Conny Pace, proudly wearing a sequined hat in Labour’s red. As a steady stream of people arrived at a polling station in the capital, Valletta, 33-year-old Charmaine Kitcher said she was voting “for stability, not change” and expected a high turnout. “Maltese are fanatics. Politics is second only to religion,” she added.
The administration has also allocated an additional 250 million euros for subsidies to cushion families against the fallout of the Middle East conflict.
Preliminary results are expected to emerge on Sunday afternoon.