The Malta Budget 2024 appears to be a constructed response to the prevailing economic climate, balancing caution with social awareness. It demonstrates an awareness of the immediate needs of the population, particularly in terms of living costs and education, while also laying down a foundation for longer-term economic stability and growth. However, the lack of...
Category: Politics
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How to spot a bad survey?
At its core, a survey is a method used to collect data from a subset of a population to draw conclusions or make inferences about the entire population. They’re often used in research, market studies, political polling, and many other fields to gauge opinions, behaviors, or characteristics. But how to distinguish between a good or...
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The Labour South & Nationalist North explained
Eddie Fenech Adami’s ‘Tal-Barrani’ meeting (1986) is emblematic of Malta’s division along what appears to be a Labour south and a Nationalist north. Understanding how the voters from the North and South became tied to the two parties, and their migration patterns across the island, is key to understanding these local political allegiances.
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Clyde Marx? Was the budget as socialist as he described?
The 2023 budget strengthens the welfare state with 60% of the measures listed in the speech could be considered “socialist”. However, this form of social protection will have challenges in the future such as ageing population which will require a rethink of the system. In the post-Muscat era, the Labour Party is actively trying to...
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A reasonable budget amidst a global energy crisis
Amid the economic turmoil and geopolitical tensions across Europe, Finance Minister Caruana unveiled the government’s budget for 2023. Broadly speaking, the budget is similar to recent ones presented by the Labour government. A common narrative of new taxes and an increase in a number of benefits to curb the effects of looming crises, as well...
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How Gorbachev & Bush ended the cold war in the Malta Summit.
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative series by Spunt.mt and Lovin Malta. The 1945 Yalta conference marked the beginning of the Cold War, a 40+ year period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies. Winds of change were sweeping through Soviet states by 1989, culminating...
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Why the French election matters
Last weekend, France held the first out of two election rounds. Placing themselves in the top two spots, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen passed through for the second round, where they will now go head to head. Macron’s vision The winner of the first round was Emmanuel Macron, a pro-European centrist who became the...
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Which party benefits from a low turnout?
Silent Day is upon us so all that is left for us to do is analyse the numbers we may be getting next Sunday. We will start this analysis by taking a look at what the surveys are saying. The main takeaway points we have to look at to answer our question are: 1. there...
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Here is why you should go vote. Revisiting the arguments of the disillusioned voter.
Admittedly, this post is hard to write. There are many angles to take on the subject and from the offset, we acknowledge that this post may not cover every conundrum out there. Nonetheless, we will attempt to provide solutions and revisit some arguments that disgruntled voters or a casual abstainer may present. We believe that...
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GUEST POST – If you think Maltese politics is hopeless, read this:
The current state of Maltese politics may have left you thinking “Is this the best we can do?” PN and Labour, which have taken turns ruling Malta for the last 90 years, are now seen by many as almost indistinguishable from each other. For some, this means that they are tainted with responsibility for environmental...