Prime Minister Robert Abela could call an election for 27th November as early as tomorrow, well-informed sources have told Lovin Malta. 

However, it appears that no final decision has yet been taken with two factions of the Labour Party seemingly pushing for two very different electoral strategies. 

One camp, who is pushing for the November election, feels that Abela could capitalise on recent goodwill following the budget and recent landmark proposals concerning cannabis reform and a metro system. This, they feel, could be essential ahead of what could be a challenging 2022. 

Meanwhile, surveys show that the PN could be almost 50,000 votes behind the Labour Party, meaning that there’s a sure-fire win on the cards.

Cabinet held an impromptu meeting last Wednesday and will hold another meeting today, with sources claiming that Abela will announce the election in a press conference on Tuesday 19th October. 

Still, another camp believes that Abela should at least finish the legislature, which would anyway conclude in June 2022. The issue remains a sore point for the Labour Party, which is yet to complete a full legislature since taking over government in 2013. 

Many would also like to see the government finish off some crucial reforms and initiatives over the next few months, including several budget proposals and notably the cannabis reform. 

There are also concerns that a snap-election could backfire in a country that has had enough of uncertainty over the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which came just after a major political crisis in the country. 

Others are also worried that a decision to call a snap-election may result in some unsavoury comparisons with his predecessor, Joseph Muscat, who called a snap election in 2017.

On his part, Abela has recently been somewhat evasive on whether a November election will be called. During a recent press conference following the budget speech, Abela did not say outright that an election would not be called, but rather that the government remained committed to implementing the budget. 

This is a far cry from the Abela of a few months ago, who would repeatedly say that the government will continue on till the end of the legislature. 

Abela just has a few days to call an election for November 2021 – it remains to be seen what his final decision will be. 

Should an election be called?