Malta [Palgrave handbook on the 2024 European Parliament elections]

Abstract

On the eve of the 2024 European Parliament election, the Labour Party (PL [Partit Laburista], S&D) had just emerged from its third consecutive general election landslide two years earlier. The Nationalist Party (PN [Partit Nazzjonalista], EPP) was led by a newly installed leader following the ousting of its previous weakest leader. He failed to unite the core vote behind him and was unable to lead the party into the 2022 general election. The PL’s victory in the 2024 election initially appeared to be a foregone conclusion even though the party and the government were linked to widespread corruption, including a mention in the Panama Papers, and rule of law issues, including the assassination of the world-famous investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. However, corruption and the rule of law issues are not necessarily considered bread and butter issues by a majority of the electorate, and with good economic growth, the result is not a surprise. However, in 2024, this was not to be the case.