District 4 profile: Four ministers walk into a district...

In the latest in a district-by-district look at the key general election battles, Daniel Ellul profiles the fourth electoral district, which includes most of Fgura, Gudja, Paola, Santa Luċija, and Tarxien. Could the PL lose its fourth seat here?  Read all the district profiles here. 

District 1 constituents often complain of having no cabinet minister and just one parliamentary secretary to represent their interests in parliament.

Voters in district 4 do not have that problem. Out of the four Labour Party MPs representing the area, three are cabinet ministers with portfolios that are among the government’s most distinguished.

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, Justice and Construction Reform Minister Jonathan Attard, and Transport Minister Chris Bonett are again running on this district.

Former Health Minister Chris Fearne was also elected in the 2022 general election from the district, acquiring an impressive, 6,770 votes.

Fearne, however ceded his district 4 seat in favour of district 3. Katya De Giovanni, who is also contesting, was elected via a casual election.

Junior minister for social dialogue and housing Andy Ellul is also on the fourth district ballot this year.

Mark Anthony Sammut was the PN’s only candidate elected on the district in 2022.

His name is again on the May 30 ballot alongside former Nationalist Party general secretary Michael Piccinino, Bernice Bonello, Duncan Borg Myatt and Stefan Caruana.

The PL currently hold four of the five seats in the district, however, the next election could result in the PN gaining a second seat.

Parking, planning, traffic, and crematoria

District insiders who are often in touch with constituents in the area said voters’ concerns often depend on the town they live in.

“In Santa Luċija, people really worry about keeping the town’s characteristics. The town is one of Malta’s best kept localities, with uniform streetscapes and plenty of green areas,” one insider told Times of Malta.

“That means that whenever there’s a planning application that could potentially ruin that, people really care,” he said.

On the other hand, residents in busier and more built-up towns like Fgura don’t have much to say about planning issues, because their town is already full of apartment blocks.

“For people from Fgura, and to some extent Paola, it’s traffic and parking that people are really upset about”.

Another issue that constitu­ents have raised is concerns over the proposed crematorium near the Addolorata cemetery in Paola.

Bonett’s poisoned chalice of transport

Transport Minister Chris Bonett is in charge of a portfolio that is notoriously difficult and politically toxic, particularly at a time when traffic is usually cited among voters’ top concerns in Malta. Several internal polls from the district show him struggling.

However, being transport minister does have its power of incumbency perks.

Over the past few days and weeks some two-thirds of Infrastructure Malta’s projects were carried out in the fourth and third district, which is also being contested by Bonett.

Several of Bonett’s colleagues in the PL say he has pushed for the pavements of his district’s roads to be re-done in order to get a bump-up in votes.

Insiders also say that Bonett’s relationship with the rest of the PL’s candidates in the district has soured during the campaign.

“We are all competing against one another, but he (Bonett) takes it to another level to the extent that you can’t work with him. Everyone is unhappy with him,” one source told Times of Malta.

Another pointed to the choice of orange as his personal campaign colour instead of the traditional Labour red.

“It is uncomfortable for everyone, it looks funny at the party’s campaign events and it really hits home the message that he just wants to be different”.

Chance of losing the fourth seat

Bonett’s political isolation, could well end up not only hurting the transport minister’s electoral performance in the district but also the PL’s chances of a fourth seat.

The number of seats awarded to the PL is heavily influenced by the percentage of votes the party gets in the election, but without voters ranking all the candidates on a party’s ballot sheet, votes can be “lost” when deciding who takes the district’s fourth seat.

“If people choose to not give him any number, the district can end up with two seats going to the PN,” one district insider said.

A PL victory with a smaller majority could also mean two seats in the district going to the Nationalist Party.

The PL won the 2013 and 2017 elections with a 35,000-vote gap, which increased to an unprecedented gap of 39,000 in 2022.

While all polls point at a PL victory on May 30, the surveys suggest the gap will reduce somewhat. A Times of Malta poll published yesterday projects a gap of 28,600 votes.

A Malta Today survey also released yesterday projects a 17,400-vote gap.

A window for Piccinino

Should a narrowed gap on the national level also translate on the fourth district, the PN could potentially clinch a second seat on district 4.

Mark Anthony Sammut was the only PN MP elected in the district. As energy shadow minister and president of the PN General Council, Sammut has maintained a high profile throughout the legislature and is expected to be re-elected.

However, Michael Piccinino, who was PN general secretary until last year, has focused on meeting much of his district 4 constituency since then, and could also make waves in the election.

Just like in 2022, Sammut is also contesting on the tenth district (which includes Sliema). In 2022, Sammut managed to clinch a seat on both districts but kept his district 4 seat as he had received more first-count votes there.

Should Sammut garner more votes on district 10, PN rules will compel him to cede his district 4 seat, giving Piccinino a road to parliament via a casual election.

In a scenario where the PN clinches two seats and Sammut cedes his, all three candidates on the PN ticket � Bernice Bonello, Duncan Borg Myatt and Stefan Caruana will have a shot at a parliamentary seat.

The candidates running on the fourth district are:

ADPD: Decelis Brian.

Aħwa Maltin: Aquilina Giuseppe.

Labour Party: Abela Raymond, Attard Jonathan, Bonett Chris, Camilleri Byron, De Giovanni Katya, Ellul Andrew (Andy), Fearne Chris, Spiteri Grech Amanda, Plumpton Eric, Woods Shana.

Momentum: Farrugia Alastair.

Nationalist Party: Bonello Bernice, Borg Myatt Duncan, Caruana Stefan, Piccinino Michael, Sammut Mark Anthony.