The blackmail system

Arnold Cassola (The Right to Choose, August 11) once again presents his argument in favour of Malta having a coalition government. According to Prof. Cassola, Malta still lacks the democratic mechanism by which people can elect whom they truly want to govern since currently we do not have a level playing field.

Perhaps Prof. Cassola should be reminded that even when the districts issue was not an issue in the election for the European Parliament, Alternattiva Demokratika still failed to obtain a seat, a fact which makes whether this failure was close or wide irrelevant.

The idea of coalition government is not even close to what Prof. Cassola described. It is not a system whereby the minority partner keeps the arrogance of the majority partner in check. It is a system of blackmail, a system where the government is controlled by the minority party. Indeed, a quick look at the governments in Italy, Israel and India will quickly reveal that a multi-party government often tends to be an instable government which is controlled by the minor party which holds the key to whether the government wins a vote or not.

Just imagine this scenario in Malta: Traditionally, no matter who sits on the opposition benches, the budget is always voted down by the opposition. If AD had a seat and indeed a stake in government its one vote could indeed be detrimental to whether the government survives another year or not.

If this is what Prof. Cassola terms as democratic and keeping the arrogance in check, I prefer to call it a system of blackmail. Are countries such as France and the United Kingdom any less democratic because they have a one-party government?