Colour blind : the voting behaviour of Maltese young people

Abstract

The identification of Maltese voters with a particular political party has been remarkably strong for many years. Applied to politics, partisanship refers to a preference for a political party and lies at the heart of political behaviour in an established democracy like Malta. Studies of voting behaviour are based upon finding the important variables that cause people to vote one way or another. Characterised by a two-party system, post-independence Malta has experienced domination in the political scene by the Nationalist Party (PN) and the Malta Labour Party (MLP). For the purpose of the study, a series of interviews (N=12) were carried out to investigate the development of and pathways towards party identification in young people and observe individuals as they first acquire partisan orientations. This research shows that class and partisan alignment still subsists in Maltese young people. Also, political socialisation plays a determining part in voting behaviour. Delving into identity models, it finds that education has less impact when compared to family socialisation and that political propaganda helps increasing political partisanship. The paper concludes by putting forth recommendations to promote Maltese young people's rational voting behaviour and how youth work can rupture social hegemonic thought through informal education and critical thinking.