The Europeanisation of Party Politics in Malta : Values, Legitimation, and Polarisation

This book examines the Europeanisation of party politics in Malta. It evaluates the influence of Europeanisation on the political system, which is based on two party-system, polarisation, and clientelism. Malta is the smallest European Union (EU) member state, which joined the EU in 2004. The road toward membership was fraught with contentious and emotionally charged debates. This book explores the relationship between Maltese political parties and the EU, the politicisation and framing of the European Union by political parties, and the impact of the European Union on Malta’s political system. The book further discusses more contentious recent events which made headlines at the EU level, including the Panama Papers scandals, the Individual Investment Programme, and the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of political science and international relations interested in a better understanding of electoral studies, Europeanisation, European integration, as well as the Maltese political system, and party politics. Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 List of Abbreviations 12 List of Figures 15 List of Tables 16 Chapter 1: Europeanisation and Party Politics in Malta: An Introduction 18 1.1 Europeanisation and Malta ́s Identity 22 1.2 Europeanisation and Malta ́s Culture 26 1.3 Europeanisation and the Party Leaders 28 1.4 The Relationship Between Malta and the European Community 31 1.5 Malta and the Four Stages of Europeanisation 38 1.6 Book Structure 39 Bibliography 41 Chapter 2: Europeanisation and Party Politics: A Review 44 2.1 Conceptualising Europeanisation 47 2.2 Functions and Mechanisms of Europeanisation 48 2.3 Europeanisation and Domestic Politics 49 2.4 Europeanisation and Political Parties 51 2.5 The Direct and Indirect Impact of Europeanisation on Political Parties 53 2.6 The Conditionality Clause 54 2.7 Europeanisation and Political Conditionality 56 2.8 National Political Parties and European Party Groups 58 2.9 Political Parties and Their EU Approach 60 2.10 Europeanisation and Euroscepticism 61 2.11 Politicisation of the EU 64 2.11.1 Politicisation and Framing 66 2.12 Political Parties Role in the European Elections 68 2.13 Europeanisation and Party Politics 71 Bibliography 71 Chapter 3: The Two Sides of Maltese Politics 79 3.1 The Road Towards the Two-Party System 80 3.2 Ideologies and the European Union 82 3.3 Political Participation, Partisanship, and Polarisation 88 3.4 The Single Transferable Vote 89 3.5 Civil Society and Malta ́s Political System 97 3.6 Political Parties and Media Pluralism 99 3.7 Party Financing 102 3.8 Trust in the Main Political Parties and Party Leaders 103 3.9 Malta and Its Two Sides of Politics 104 Bibliography 104 Chapter 4: Europeanisation and Membership in the European Union 109 4.1 Ideologies, Neutrality and European Membership 111 4.2 The EU Influence and Malta: The 1987 Election 114 4.3 The Second Stage of Europeanisation and the 1992 National Election 120 4.4 Reforms and EU Membership 125 4.5 Malta ́s Tax System and the Labour Party 133 4.6 The 2003 EU Referendum 139 4.7 Malta and the European Union: The 2003 National Election 147 4.8 Malta ́s Political Parties and EU Membership 152 Bibliography 153 Chapter 5: Membership in the European Union: Challenges and Opportunities 158 5.1 Second Order Elections and the First European Parliament Election in Malta 160 5.2 Personalisation of Politics and EU Affairs 168 5.3 The Europeanisation of the Labour Party 175 5.4 Divorce and the European Union 184 5.5 The 2013 National Election and the Rise of the Labour Party 187 5.6 Europeanisation and EU Membership 194 Bibliography 195 Chapter 6: Europeanisation and European Values 200 6.1 European Values and the Muscat Administration 201 6.2 A Decade of Membership and the 2014 European Elections 211 6.3 Minority Rights and the 2015 Hunting Referendum 218 6.4 Malta ́s 2017 EU Presidency of the Council of the EU 231 6.4.1 EU Presidency and Irregular Migration 233 6.4.2 The Maltese Presidency and the Other Priorities 243 6.5 The Panama Papers and the 2017 National Election 247 6.5.1 The 2017 National Election 260 6.6 European Values and Malta ́s Political System 275 Bibliography 276 Chapter 7: Europeanisation and the Rule of Law 292 7.1 European Values and the Assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia 293 7.1.1 The Assassination of Daphne and the European Dimension 300 7.2 The Political Divisions and Valletta 2018 306 7.3 The Publication of the Inquiry on Egrant and the Pilatus Bank 310 7.4 The 2019 European Elections 313 7.5 The Murder of Lassana Cisse 321 7.6 The Daphne Caruana Galizia Investigation, the 2019 Protests, and the Resignation of Muscat 325 7.7 The Role of MEPs in Malta ́s Political System and the Election of Roberta Metsola as President of the European Parliament 338 7.8 The 2022 National Elections in Malta and the Covid-19 Pandemic 342 7.9 The European Union and Malta ́s Political System 354 Bibliography 357 Chapter 8: Europeanisation and Party Politics in Malta: A Reflection 367 8.1 Malta and Membership in the European Union 379 Bibliography 397 Name Index 401 Subject Index 406