Election Desk: Politicians by day, concert promoters by night
Mass meetings have evolved into music festivals, and you should really pick up your voting document. Here's your election rundown.
Welcome to the Election Desk. This is where we round up the major headlines of the last 24 hours, together with some of the more light-hearted and funnier sides of the campaign trail.
Pick up your paper (or miss out)
First off: if you haven't picked up your voting document, you have until Thursday. The Electoral Commission reminded us on Sunday that voters can pick them up from the Counting Complex in Naxxar and from the electoral office on Triq Ta' Wara s-Sur in Victoria from Monday to Wednesday from 8am until 1pm, and from 3pm until 9pm.
Documents may also be collected on Thursday, the last day, between 8am and 1pm and from 3pm until midnight.
If you're elderly or sick and can't pick it up yourself, the commission will try to deliver it to your house, but you need to phone them first on +356 2558 3240.
Voting documents can be collected until Thursday. File photo: Times of Malta.Mass meetings in full force
Sunday was for mass meetings from both Labour and the PN, and neither held back.
Robert Abela made his speech at the packed Victor Tedesco Stadium in Hamrun, framing the election as a vote of confidence in him and his party. Citing the European Commission's spring economic forecast, which predicts Malta will lead economic growth within the EU until 2027, he pointed to the government's record, including benefits hikes, tax reductions, IVF funding, the return of Manoel Island, and plans for White Rocks and Fort Campbell to be national parks.
The main message to his supporters was simple. He wants them to “knock on every door, call a friend, and ensure everybody knows that the country shouldn't lose what we've built”. Their next mass meeting? Back at Fosos in Floriana with international DJ Armin van Buuren. Labour is clearly not on a tight budget.
Robert Abela addressing party faithful at the Victor Tedesco Stadium in Ħamrun. Photo: PL.Meanwhile, in Sliema, Dingli Street was ablaze with blue flags and EU banners as Alex Borg reiterated his party's key pledges. A network of new hospitals, free cancer medication, income tax reductions, an end to inheritance tax, a 25% increase to student stipends and a new school every year. He also championed the PN's proposed metro, claiming pre-emptive studies are "ready" and a Nationalist government would break ground straight away.
In a personal address to disillusioned Labour supporters and past Nationalist voters who had defected to the other side in 2013, Borg offered an apology. "In the 25 years that we governed, we achieved many positives, but we weren't perfect, and we hurt people," he said. "I wasn't here when it happened, but I still ask for your forgiveness."
Opposition Leader Alex Borg reiterated his party's campaign pledges during one of the PN's last mass meetings before the election. Photo: Jonathan Borg.Smaller parties still playing the game
ADPD candidates Melissa Bagley and Brian Decelis spent Sunday at community events in Marsascala and Birżebbuġa. They took part in a walk from St Thomas Tower to Żonqor Point, a roundtable discussion, and a visit to Fort Bengħajsa. The duo made a plea to their audience; cultural and natural heritage is equally important as economic success.
Meanwhile, Momentum laid out their proposed plans for democratic reform, including ongoing public focus groups known as 'vision circles', changing the referendum law so that citizens, not just government, can suggest new legislation, and that there must be mandatory public consultations for any project costing over €1 million.
ADPD candidates Brian Decelis and Melissa Bagley took part in community events in Marsascala and Birżebbuġa. Photo: ADPD.