With his mind at rest

Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo says voting for his party in this election is an added safeguard to joining the EU. Talking to Steve Mallia, Dr Vassallo says AD would laugh in the Labour Party's face if it suddenly decided to sign the EU Accession Treaty.

Could you tell me how you felt when the referendum result was announced?

I was immensely relieved, especially as only moments before rumours had spread that it had gone the other way. I was so worried before that I couldn't even feel overjoyed. Obviously the whole thing changed with the reaction from the Labour Party.

How did you feel when the Labour leader claimed that "partnership" won the referendum?

I was outraged. It defies logic. You were taken back to a time when these things happened more frequently. You also had a sense of being cheated of victory: not that you had lost, but that you were deprived of the joy of celebration.

Since then he has proposed a second referendum. Isn't this acceptable?

I find it extremely irritating. I believe a referendum binds politicians. When people speak, everybody should bow.

Do you think it's viable to have a choice between "partnership" and membership?

The whole thing has become a farce and I don't think we should discuss it. It is Alice in Wonderland politics.

What do you think will happen if Malta does not sign the Accession Treaty on Wednesday?

I think it would be a serious hiccup. The EU is run by very strict timetables and if you miss one stage it is very difficult to come in again.

Can't Malta join at a time of its own choosing?

No. I think this enlargement has been a heavy strain on the EU, and Malta is not a major country which the EU would think justifies the trouble and expense of going through another enlargement. Malta was fortunate to catch up with the other applicant countries to make it for this enlargement. If we miss this chance, it may be a decade or two before we get there.

Do you think you have a realistic chance of gaining a seat in parliament?

Yes.

What leads you to believe that when you haven't gained one before?

In this election voting AD is definitely an added safeguard for anyone who wants to join the EU. The presence of a third party means that you have a majority formed by seats in parliament rather than a relative majority that may be taken into consideration in terms of only two parties. In that scenario, there is a strong likelihood of the MLP having more votes than the PN, but not more than the PN plus AD. In that scenario we are going to have an MLP government which is in absolute minority. That's a very serious matter. We would be very glad to see the PN take more than 50 per cent of the vote or even a relative majority and solve the whole issue.

But don't you think your position on this issue is risking losing the PN the chance to be elected and you are thereby endangering the prospect of EU membership?

No. First of all, we offered to form an alliance with the PN.

And what was the response to that?

The response was no, for various reasons. The PN is a mammoth organisation with many interests to consider.

The PN said there was a constitutional difficulty in having an alliance, which is unacceptable to me. For me it was evidence of an unwillingness. Our policies also do not match the PN's on various matters. Whereas we were willing to make an undertaking that we would never twist the PN's arm on any of the policies that they find unacceptable...

It's all very well to say that now, but in reality couldn't you put the spokes in the wheels if you held the balance of power in parliament?

If you form a coalition, and particularly a pre-electoral alliance, you can have a joint electoral programme and I would have been willing to have all the negotiations published etc.

But to take one of the most recent examples in Malta, in 1998 the then Labour government even had one of its own members vote against it. Isn't it even more likely to have a member from another party doing that?

No. Apart from considering our record where we have been a shining example of honour and rectitude in politics, our interest is not to make a shambles of Maltese politics but for us to grow. I am glad you mentioned that incident where we had someone contradicting their own government. It happened to be an octogenarian with nothing left to lose in politics. In our case we are looking forward to having our party grow. We would like to have three or four MPs in 2008. We could never achieve that if we play the mavericks.

Don't you agree that you would have disproportionate power considering you are supported by such a small section of the electorate? Isn't that making a joke of democracy?

No. I think first of all it also gives us disproportionate responsibility. I think we can bear that. Also, this argument is a bit shameful coming from somebody who is Maltese when you consider that Malta in the UN general assembly only has one vote as does the Republic of India and we are proposing to join the EU where we will have one minister in the Council of Ministers along with Germany.

If you really supported the EU, wouldn't you have forsaken your party interests and told your supporters to vote for the PN in this election?

When you think we have been cheated of representation for three elections, we are being asked to be magnanimous when nobody else has been magnanimous. I don't see the rest of the political spectrum committing suicide for anyone else and I don't see why we should be asked to do so. We certainly bent over backwards to make it possible. We offered all our votes in an alliance with the PN. Even if none of us had been elected we would have made no more demands. To be more generous than that is impossible. We have also been asked to say vote number one for the PN, which is completely illogical. You don't stand for election and ask people to vote for another party.

Even if you believe in the EU?

Yes. If you believe in the EU, you do your utmost to make this happen. Doing our utmost meant trying to form an alliance with the PN. We have reduced our standing in the election results to an absolute shadow of what our real standing in the country is and we have campaigned to elect an MP, not in any electoral district, but in a district where we can do without a number one vote.

Which is the eighth district, which you are contesting. But the risk for the PN is that they will lose a candidate because of you.

If we are looking at the interests of Malta joining the EU, I don't think we should be worried about the PN losing a candidate. If we took half the seats of the PN and got into the EU, most people would not care less.

But the prime minister is arguing that there is a risk that the MLP will come to power because of this.

No. If there are three parties in parliament, one will look at seats. Objectively, the result is going to be whatever it is going to be for AD plus PN. Now, whether the seats are with the AD or the PN does not make the slightest difference. And anybody who says different is completely wrong.

What would be the advantages of having three parties in government in the Maltese system?

I think that since 1971 we have lived in a polarised situation. It has cost people their lives and their quality of their life. There is also a gaping wide stinking grave in our country because we have not really settled the business of the 1980s. The PN has given absolution to the MLP which has not even offered its apologies. Rwanda and South Africa have been much better than us at providing reconciliation.

Who's fault is this?

Both parties.

And how will you as a party change this. Is it something that can be changed in Malta?

Yes. First of all, as long as there are two parties hanging on to power by a slither of support, you are going to have giant inflated parties in government, unable to address a series of questions which really have been postponed for many years. I am thinking about things like rent law reform, that's been waiting 50 years. There won't be such things as giving away illegal property to the Armier boathouse people. There may be some sort of restraint on the over-development we have. We will have the financing of political parties regulated. We will have decent broadcasting, unlike we have now where we have two media fortresses that have whipped the country into mass hysteria. I think this is a lot to offer a country from a single seat in parliament.

Could you only offer these things if you had a stranglehold on a party in parliament, because otherwise why would they listen to you?

No. We don't need a stranglehold on the PN. We need representation on the Broadcasting Authority which we won't get any other way. We will need to have influence on the electoral system. We need to be present to ask parliamentary questions.

The prime minister is telling people not to risk voting for you. How do you react to that?

Well, I think he's got to persuade the hunters that he does not have an agreement with us.

Do you feel you were used in any way by the PN in their referendum campaign?

I think we will discuss this after the election.

What position would you take if the MLP suddenly turns round and says it will sign the EU Accession Treaty?

I think we would laugh in their face. They should have done this about six months ago in which case we would be discussing the performance of the last PN government in this election. Instead, we are forced to support the PN to be sure of EU accession. I think whatever the MLP says now nobody would believe.

As a party do you think your success will only ever be limited to local council elections?

No. We have a very realistic expectation of being in parliament after this election and it will only be through the great efforts of our allies to the contrary that we will not succeed, which will be a great disappointment.

Don't you agree that it is in no party's interest to take you on board because you will speak out against various issues?

But it is in the people's interest. We have done our utmost and I can go into this election with my mind at rest that I have done my duty to my country.