Issue competition in Maltese national and European elections since 2003

Abstract

The dissertation analyses the issues on which elections are fought in order to confirm whether there is a relation between the major concerns and fears perceived by the electorate as facing the country are, in effect, reflected at election time as electoral issues in both General and EP elections. In parallel, this research studies if people differentiate between issues when voting in a General as opposed to an EP election. Using data from Misco surveys, EB surveys, newspaper surveys and analyses and election results, the thesis gives an overview of the issues that pre-occupied voters and how they voted in all General and EP elections since 2003. It emerges that EP elections in Malta are considered as second-order elections. However, the issues that rally people to the polling booth for EP elections do have a supranational thinking. The elections held in Malta since 2003 have all had domestic issues as their core component. On average, during the past decade, following Malta's accession to the EU, the biggest issue that dominated the country has been illegal immigration, followed by rising prices and inflation and the general economy. A correlation between these finding and EP election results docs exist. This is because when the electorate was asked on which issue it had cast its vote in EP elections immigration concerns scored the highest points in both 2009 and 2014 EP elections. The same cannot be said for GE where the immigration issue was never on top of the agenda. Therefore, it is clear from this analysis that, whilst domestic issues do dominate all electoral appointments, in EP elections the electorate does alter issues and votes mostly on issues that in its opinion can best be handled by the supranational institutions. This happens in spite of the fact that, so far, EP elections come about just a year after GF, thereby confirming alternation of issue priorities. Participation in EP elections is lower than in GEs. European issues seem not to dominate so much as to make people go to the polling booth. A study about abstentions in the three EP elections held in Malta shows that the main reason why a high percentage (when compared to GE) are not voting, is because citizens are generally dissatisfied with politics. EB surveys have shown that trust in Political Parties for the past eleven years reached an average of only 27%. The EU as a whole gains more trust than the national government. By interpreting this factor vis-a '-vis electoral issues one may argue that when it comes to EP elections, the issues at stake are those in which the people trust the EU more with their handling. This exercise abo shows thot that the first ten years of EU membership helped alleviate the worries and concerns that the Maltese had prior to accession with the majority viewing membership as a good thing. Today both local political forces are pro-Europe.