Election rhetoric risks fuelling hate speech, experts warn

The rhetoric used during Malta’s recent election campaign risks feeding the same patterns of hate speech, racism and exclusion that the Council of Europe has warned are spreading across democratic societies, two equality experts have warned.

Former European commissioner Helena Dalli and academic Maria Pisani said the campaign had exposed the tension between Malta’s equality laws and the persistence of xenophobic and Islamophobic attitudes in public debate.

Their comments came after the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance warned of “alarming levels” of hate speech across Europe, saying foreign nationals, Muslims, Roma and LGBTIQ people were among the groups most frequently targeted, particularly during election periods.

Dalli said the report was a timely reminder that “no democracy is immune from the corrosive effects of hate speech”.

She said Malta had made “significant progress” on equality but could not afford complacency.

“We have seen instances of xenophobic rhetoric directed at migrants and asylum seekers, hostility expressed on social media and a growing tendency towards polarisation in public debate,” she said.

We have seen instances of xenophobic rhetoric directed at migrants and asylum seekers, hostility expressed on social media and a growing tendency towards polarisation in public debate- Helena Dalli

Asked about the tone of the election campaign, Dalli said she was glad it had been “mostly civil”. But she said the abuse directed at Labour candidate Omar Rababah was a clear exception.

Rababah, a Maltese Muslim whose father is Syrian, faced racist and Islamophobic comments after announcing his candidature. During the campaign, he also said his family had been targeted after his sister’s car tyre was slashed.

Dalli said that, although Rababah was Maltese, the idea of him becoming an MP appeared to have been “a step too far” for some people.

She said such episodes showed that, at times, public attitudes still had to “catch up” with equality laws.

“Hatred does not emerge in isolation. Hate speech, discrimination and social exclusion are linked,” Dalli said.

“When prejudice is normalised in public discourse, it creates an environment in which exclusion, discrimination and, in some cases, violence become more likely.”

‘Us versus them’

Pisani was more critical of the campaign, saying politicians had failed the first test of the government’s own anti-racism strategy.

She pointed to Malta’s second National Action Plan Against Racism, launched last year, which includes a measure to pilot a code of conduct for election candidates on inclusive and diverse campaigning practices.

“Formulating a good strategy is meaningless without sound implementation,” Pisani said. “What is the point of a strategy if those responsible fall at the first hurdle?”

Pisani said the campaign had shown how quickly politicians were prepared to use Muslims, including Maltese citizens, to create an “us versus them” dynamic.

“History has demonstrated time and time again that those denied a voice will be the first political scapegoat,” she said.

She said this drew on an “established and institutionalised narrative” that had largely gone unquestioned, giving racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia “the oxygen” to spread.

Fuelling these sentiments, and stoking divisions, erodes trust and cohesion in our communities and runs contrary to the social well-being that all the parties claim to value so much- Maria Pisani

“And here’s the paradox: fuelling these sentiments, and stoking divisions, erodes trust and cohesion in our communities and runs contrary to the social well-being that all the parties claim to value so much.”

Dalli was also asked about Prime Minister Robert Abela’s framing of Labour’s proposed €1,000 “super bonus” for workers, after he told supporters that the party had found a way of leaving foreign workers out of the grant by linking eligibility to five years of work in Malta.

Dalli said the measure itself was not discriminatory because it applied to anyone who had worked in Malta for five years or more, regardless of race. However, she said it could have been explained better.

She said the challenge was not only legal but cultural, adding that political leaders, public figures, educators, media organisations and online platforms all had a responsibility to foster respect and inclusion.

“Legitimate disagreement is an essential part of democratic life, but disagreement must never descend to dehumanisation, hatred or incitement,” she said.