Watch: Joseph Muscat Highlights Three Negatives From Election And Says Gender Quotas ‘Badly Needed’
Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has highlighted three “negatives” from last weekend’s election results – the relatively low turnout, the few women MPs elected, and the weakness of the Opposition.
“You can’t be condescending,” Muscat said in an interview with Willinsky Magazine. “It’s a very good result for the PL but the low turnout is concerning by Maltese standards.”
“There was an evident protest vote against the political system which must be taken into consideration.”
Besides the turnout rate, which at 85.5% was the lowest in Maltese electoral history since 1966, Muscat also flagged the fact that only four women were elected to Parliament, down from seven in 2017.
Describing the rate as “abysmal”, Muscat argued that this proves the need for the gender-corrective mechanism, which is set to be deployed for the first time next week and grant 12 more seats to PL and PN.
“We’re actually moving backwards rather than forwards and I think this proves the need for the corrective system to have more women MPs,” Muscat said. “If there was anyone who thought this was not needed, this election shows it’s badly needed and that we need to jump-start the system.”
Finally, with the PL triumphing by a record 39,000 votes, Muscat warned that the inability of the Opposition to make electoral inroads could actually be harmful for the country.
“Malta still cannot find a credible opposition, which is needed for a meaningful political debate,” he said. “It’s extremely important for the country.”
What do you make of Joseph Muscat’s analysis?
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