On 9 March 2008, the Maltese sat through the final count of the Malta 2008 general election, one of the most closely contested elections in the country’s political history. The voting itself had taken place on 8 March. Early celebrations from the Labour side on Sunday morning faded as it became clear that the narrow margin made it too early to call. After a long wait on Sunday, as the samples and first-count picture sharpened, the Nationalist Party’s win became clear. The fin

The year 2017 was a very particular year for Maltese politics. Today marks the anniversary of when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat brought a foreign delegation to Serkin in Rabat to eat pastizzi, like locals do. The images travelled: dignitaries in suits, no cutlery. It looked spontaneous. It wasn’t. It was soft power by design. A visual pitch for a country that wanted to believe that everything was “business as usual”. However, the backdrop matters. 2017 was not a calm year. Th