Editorial

Just before the official launch of the electoral campaign, Alternattiva Demokratika took the pre-emptive step of saying that a discussion should begin on a coaltion government.

In rather patronising tone, however, AD leader Harry Vassallo said he recognised that the other parties were "highly disadvantaged" when it came to contemplating this issue because they were "formed" by a 41-year-old mentality which shunned the very thought of coalition.

That this is the case is a cause for celebration rather than commiseration. Nineteenth century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said that England does not love coalitions. In fact, in the past 100 years it has only officially had two, and both were born as a result of the most extreme crisis, primarily war.

Truth be told, no one loves them. As the Italians - about to experience yet another election after the collapse of their umpteenth government - will no doubt testify, coalitions lead to staccato governance, though with a feature not present in the musical style: disrupted rhythm.

Whatever Silvio Berlusconi's shortcomings, his assertion in recent days that his country needs "a government that works" cannot ring more true. In a globalised age where the ability to relentlessly pursue, and see through, sound policies is everything, coalition is a recipe for failure.

The negative effects of such a reality in Malta are amplified further, due to the country's size. As the Labour Party found out to its cost in 1998, having one renegade member can be enough to stop a government dead in its tracks, or bring it down. Having a member of your government that is not even a member of your party, means this can happen at any time.

This is highly undesirable, as well as unnecessary. Malta is not going through a period of crisis. On the contrary, it is enjoying the best economic health in living memory. What it needs is a strong govern-ment that can sustain this and take it to the next level.

Coalition would also provide the country with a skewed democracy; since a disproportionate amount of power - indeed the balance of it - would be in the hands of one individual rather than contained, as is its rightful place, within a dominant party representation in Parliament.

The person who finds himself in this position would probably be able to demand a powerful Cabinet position even though hardly any of the electorate wanted this to happen, and to bargain his way through, on a whim quite possibly, as long as he deems that legislature should last.

Dr Vassallo's argument is flawed on another level, since there is no credible evidence to suggest - indeed opinion polls so far indicate otherwise - that AD is in a position to gain a seat in the coming election. He could be talking in this way, as he is entitled to do, to bolster his own chances - he is likely to be AD's strongest candidate - of being elected. But he has rather put the cart before the horse.

He said last week that "in a few weeks' time we could be experiencing a new political era in the country where no one is a winner or a loser". He is wrong, since the very nature of politics dictates that there must be winners and losers. And if the election produces a coalition government, that loser would be Malta.