Malta
Background
Maltese history at a glance
Situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, halfway between Gibraltar and Alexandria to the west and the east and between Sicily and Northern Africa in the north and the south, Malta has been at the cross-road of trade and warriors and its history is that of conquest and colonizers. By the 11th century Malta had e.g. been under Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman influence.
In 1530, Charles V of Habsburg (who had inherited the Spanish Empire) and Pope Clement 8 handed the Maltese islands over to the Knights of St. John in order to protect Rome from the Ottoman threat in the south. The Great Siege of Malta lasted for four months in 1565 and ended with Ottoman defeat in September. The so-called Knights of Malta made the island their domain and built towns (including the present-day capital of Valletta), palaces, churches, gardens, and fortifications and embellished the island with numerous works of art and enhanced cultural heritage. The powers and popularity of the Knights declined in the course of the 18th century, and their reign was ended with the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet in 1798. Two years later, however, the Maltese in cooperation with British forces were able to oust the French and Malta voluntarily became a part of the British Empire. In the course of the 19th century, Malta became a stronghold for the British fleet and British trade, and the economy of the islands became heavily dependent upon British military spending.
A new constitution of 1921 established a Maltese legislative assembly and a responsible government. While domestic political affairs were from that date taken care of by Maltese elected officials, Britain maintained control over Malta's foreign affairs and defence policy. Malta became an independent state in 1964 after an agreement was reached between the major Maltese parties and the British government. Malta remained a part of the Commonwealth and recognized the Queen as the head of state. In 1974, the country became a republic.
Politics in the new era
Maltese parliamentary elections have generated widespread voter turnout. Mean turnout for the four parliamentary elections organized in the period 1992-2003 is 96.2 percent. Two parties dominate Malta's polarized and evenly divided politics: the Nationalist Party (PN) and the Malta Labour Party (MLP). Notably, these two parties have won 100 percent of the seats in all elections since World War II. The margin between them is usually narrow.
The Nationalist Party headed by Eddie Fenech Adami assumed government offices following the 1987 election. Before this election, a constitutional amendment had been introduced that guaranteed a majority of the parliamentary seats to a majority-winning party after the Nationalists had won the majority in the previous election (1981) but nevertheless had remained in opposition. The Nationalists were able to retain the position following the 1992 election. The period brought about significant changes: the country's physical infrastructure as well as business and legal structures were overhauled, trade was liberalized and telecommunications, banking and financial services were deregulated and/or privatized. Adami also aimed at bringing Malta closer to Europe with an application to become a member of the European Community (EEC) in 1990.
The changes introduced to prepare Malta for accession to the EEC finally led to the downfall of the Nationalist government. Following the 1996 election, Labour - having won 50.7 percent of the votes - reassumed the government offices under the leadership of Alfred Sant. The Labour government sought to emphasise Malta's traditional policy of neutrality and immediately withdrew Malta's application to join the EU and pulled out of NATO's Partnership for Peace plan.
Disputes within the Malta Labour Party forced Sant's to call an early election after the party had served only two years in government. In the 1998 election, Adami once again brought the Nationalists to victory. This time around, the party was able to capture 35 of 65 seats in the legislature, thus holding the largest majority since World War II. Malta's application to become a member of the EU was reactivated and preparations for admission were resumed. Malta was invited to enter negotiations with the EU in 1999, the negotiations were concluded in 2002 and accepted by the electorate in a referendum in 2003. The parliamentary elections organized the same year confirmed support of the Nationalist Party and Adami continued in office. In 2004 Lawrence Gonzi succeeded Adami as prime minister and Adami was elected to the presidency.
