Prime Minister Robert Abela is being advised to head to the polls in November, though no final decision has yet been taken, Times of Malta is informed.
Sources within the government say mid- to late November is increasingly being seen as a wise date for an election.
The strategy behind the November date is that it would allow Labour to carry the feel-good factor of another tax-free October budget into a general election.
October is also set to see the completion and official opening of the government’s €55 million Central Link project, a major infrastructure undertaking expected to cut commute times for motorists.
Although no commitment to a date has yet been made, insiders say November is being favoured, particularly given the worsening government finances.
The budget deficit for 2021 is projected to hit €1.6 billion, up from €1.3 billion the previous year, as battling the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hoover up millions of euros.
“It would be better to just get it over with now. With the government’s worsening fiscal position, economic uncertainty caused by Malta’s FATF greylisting as well as COVID-19, 2022 just holds too many unknowns,” one insider told Times of Malta.
At the height of the COVID pandemic last year, Abela dismissed calling an early election, saying the government would see out the entire five-year legislature.
Since then, the government has managed a successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination and helped prevent businesses from going under due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
The prime minister’s talk about the prospect of an early election also became more nuanced this year, with Abela saying an election will be held when Labour’s 2017 electoral manifesto is fully implemented. The full term of the legislature comes to end in June 2022.
However, without fixed-term parliamentary legislatures, Malta’s general election date remains the prime minister’s prerogative. This gives him the power to hold an election according to political convenience.
The precise date could hinge on a number of factors, including a potential visit by Pope Francis, which would soak up considerable police and army resources for at least a week in advance.
Sources within the Nationalist Party said it is preparing to ramp up its election campaigning in September.
The PN has shied away from demanding an early election despite a slew of government scandals, as the party’s leader Bernard Grech is still said to be finding his feet having been at the helm for less than a year.
The party continues to trail Labour badly in the polls, with surveys indicating the PL is on course for another easy victory.