Factors influencing political participation in Malta

Abstract

What can be said with more certainty regarding the Maltese political stratum is that it includes an over-representation of certain sectors of society. There were tentative solutions to change the situation such as universal suffrage, giving women the possibility contest general elections and the tentative by the MLP to recruit more MPs from the working class. However, these tentatives seem to meet little success. Thus, a Maltese MP is more likely to be a married male, with a high level of education, coming from a middle-class background and who has been a long-term resident in his community. Above all, he would have had a good political socialisation in his childhood and adolescence, possibly by a politically active family. The factors of parental influence, education and class background will help determine not only the level of activity of an individual, but also his party identification as was seen in other countries. In Malta, factors such as media and religion tend to have a greater influence on the direction rather than on the magnitude of participation. Meanwhile the age factor in Malta compared to other countries, can be considered as less influential than the aforementioned factors Although certain factors tend to be more influential than others, it is practically impossible to present a list of these in order of importance, also because a lot depends on personal circumstances. However, if one were to make a tentative list from the opinions of MPs expressed in the questionnaires received and the interviews made, the list would look like this: family, literature and media, events, education, religion, occupation and marriage. Admitting that persons with these characteristics are more likely to, and indeed do, participate more in politics, one has to bear in mind that the decision to actually enter the political arena depends also on other circumstances in the life of the potential candidate. These other factors can be just as important, or even more in determining the level of participation chosen by an individual. Nevertheless, this study shows that having certain characteristics will predispose an individual to political participation and will also facilitate his entry into politics.