In the last election. the two districts comprising Sliema, Gzira, St Julian’s, Pembroke (tenth) and Swieqi, San Gwann, Gharghur, Madliena, Msida and Ta’ Xbiex (ninth), elected seven incumbent Nationalist MPs and four members of Gonzi’s cabinet.
Environment Minister George Pullicino, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo and backbencher Robert Arrigo were all elected from the tenth district, while Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech was elected in both the ninth and tenth districts. Social Policy Minister Dolores Cristina, who contests both districts, was elected from the ninth. All four ministers contest both districts.
Back in 2003, the two districts also elected Malta’s EU Commissioner Joe Borg, whose votes are now up for grabs by the rival contenders.
This time round the PN is increasing the number of candidates in both districts. So far the party has increased it’s candidates from ten to fourteen in the tenth district and from twelve to fourteen in the ninth.
“For the established candidates an increase in candidates is never good news but the strategy will help the party get more first count votes,” a canvasser working for a Minister in the 10th district told MaltaToday.
But the revision of district boundaries has shifted the goalposts for the tenth district incumbents. With the addition of Labour-oriented Gzira and the loss of Swieqi, the PN could probably lose one of its four seats elected in the tenth district to Labour.
Yet with EU Commissioner Joe Borg and former Tourism Minister Michael Refalo not contesting this time round, there are a considerable 5,131 PN votes which could determine who of the four Nationalist MPs would lose a seat.
Gharghur is another recent addition to the ninth district. Candidates are now vying for Health Minister Louis Deguara’s votes in this locality.
The two districts are considered as more avant-garde when it comes to political choices than the rest Malta. In the Euro elections, nearly a fifth of electors in both districts voted for AD candidate Arnold Cassola, something which is less likely in a general election.
But the ninth and tenth districts contain widely contrasting social realities which make them hard to pigeon-hole.
Sliema – demographically Malta’s oldest town – retains a Stricklandian independent streak, but its heartland remains conservative and insular.
In contrast, Pembroke stands out as one of Malta’s youngest towns, attracting couples from towns and villages outside the confines of the district. According to candidates doing rounds of house visits in Pembroke, this young locality also hosts an increasing number of politically mixed households, where husband and wife support rival parties.
Working class San Gwann, which is prone to a number of social problems, now falls within same district as affluent Swieqi.

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The heavyweights

George Pullicino

Strengths
Sliema boy George Pullicino runs very organised campaign in both districts, including regular meetings with constituents and house visits which he has kept going for the past four years. As Environment Minister Pullicino has the merit of closing down the Maghtab landfill which borders on the ninth district.

Weaknesses
As the Minister responsible for MEPA, Pullicino takes the flak for many of the authority’s more unpopular decisions. The extension of Outside Development Zones angered both environmentalists and even those whose land was excluded from the new boundaries.
Yet it is the day-to-day problems of dust, cranes and noise which alienate most tenth district voters. Traditional and elderly voters form the bulk of Pullicino’s constituency, and are largely oblivious to environmental concerns until the cranes come to demolish the house next door.
Pullicino also faces pockets of dissent in Tigne and Qui-Si-Sana, where residents have seen their once serene district degenerate in to a permanent construction site. Over development is also a big concern in the ninth district localities like Swieqi.
Hunting could also be an issue in parts of the ninth district, especially San Gwann where a large number of hunters live. But resentment against hunting is strong in Swieqi.
The government’s latest environmental U-turn on Ramla l-Hamra, his firm stand on hunting and the introduction of new construction regulations have partly restored his green credentials.

Support base
Back in 2003 Pullicino was elected from tenth district with 2,653 first count votes.
He also gained 829 votes from ninth district. Once again he will be contesting the ninth and tenth districts

Francis Zammit Dimech

Strengths:
Zammit Dimech is still considered to be very strong at constituency level especially in St Julian’s. His visibility in “feel good” events like the Notte Bianca also helps to boost his image.
He also has the gift of the gab, finding the right words to motivate the party’s grassroots. His unquestionable loyalty to Lawrence Gonzi, expressed in the last party council, boosts his strength among the party die-hards.

Weaknesses
He emerged as the most unpopular Minister in surveys carried by MaltaToday in 2006 and 2007 during the tourism crisis. He has also clashed with leading hoteliers who went as far as asking the Prime Minister for his resignation. Although he still manages to charm supporters, his bombastic style tends to alienate others.
Zammit Dimech’s electoral prospects have improved after a late surge in tourist arrivals, and the advent of government-subsidised low cost airlines which keep the hoteliers happy.

Support base
Elected from tenth district with 2,141 first count votes. Elected from ninth district with 2,166 first count votes. He will be contesting the ninth and tenth districts again.

Robert Arrigo

Strengths
The Sliema Wanderers President is also considered as very strong at constituency level, even if he lacks Francis Zammit Dimech’s flamboyance and charisma.
With his wife Marina Arrigo taking his place as Sliema mayor, he has kept a vital link with constituents.
In the past years he also intervened as a mediator between angry Qui-Si-Sana residents and the Prime Minister by arranging a meeting in Castile, where the Prime Minister promised that the proposed car park will not include commercial development. He has also struck a chord by proposing a building moratorium in Sliema. In Gzira, he could benefit from his well-known sports connections.

Weaknesses
His support base is too concentrated in Sliema, even if he is trying to make inroads in localities like Pembroke – the subject of many of his parliamentary questions.
Arrigo, a hotelier has never made a secret of his ambition to become the next
tourism minister. But the discerning voter might question whether this exposes him to a potential conflict of interest.
He also faces some competition from sportsman Pippo Psaila, even if the two appeal to very different categories of sportsmen. While Arrigo appeals to the typical supporter, Psaila appeals to more particular niches and clubs.
His recent promotion in the PN’s new retinue of potential Ministers has also increased his stature in the party.

Support base
Elected from tenth district with 1,827 first count votes. He will be contesting the ninth district for the first time.

Michael Frendo

Strengths
Enjoys a very high profile as Malta’s Foreign Minister. But this could prove his poisoned chalice. While it gives him the prestige of taking decisions alongside the likes of Massimo D’Alema and Bernard Kouchner, he has little chance to keep contact with constituents. He is surely one of the few high brow candidates on the Maltese political scene.
Frendo’s tough stance to persuade EU partners to share the burden on immigration and to defend Malta’s sixth seat in the European parliament may earn him some points with the discerning voter.

Weaknesses
The nomination for the post of Commonwealth General Secretary has increased his prestige but derailed his campaign at local level, something which was fully exploited by some of his rivals’ canvassers, who spread the word that he won’t be contesting.
The issue will only be resolved by the end of the month when Commonwealth members meeting in Uganda decide between Frendo and India’s nominee, Kamalesh Sharma – the current High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Although a prime target of Alfred Sant before the 1996 election over the bus ticketing scandal, in the past months he was the only Nationalist Minister to earn praise from Sant, who endorsed his candidature for the Commonwealth post and publicly extolled his credentials and vision.

Support base
Despite gaining 1,431 first count votes from the tenth district, he only managed to get in to Parliament after a by-election when former foreign Minister Joe Borg vacated his tenth district seat to keep his seat on the ninth district.
On the ninth district, Frendo gained 693 votes.

Dolores Cristina

Strengths
Cristina is definitely the most popular PN Minister as confirmed by MaltaToday surveys, and her stature has grown since the last election.
She has the advantage of leading a “caring” Ministry which does not take much political flak. She also inherited Joe Borg’s electoral machine in the ninth district, including his personal driver who is now one Cristina’s leading canvassers.
With her Swieqi constituency moving from tenth to the ninth district she is even stronger in this district than she was in 2003.

Weaknesses
Her social welfare portfolio has little relevance in her affluent Swieqi constituency, although it is quite relevant in more working class San Gwann. Her efforts to clamp
down on benefit fraud could score points in her middle class constituencies.
Although a white paper on rent reform is in the offing, the long delay could dent in Cristina’s image as delivering Minister among a small category of voters who care about this issue.
As minister responsible for the integration of irregular immigrants, Cristina also faces hostility from the extreme right.

Support base
In the 2003 election she gained 647 first count votes in the ninth district and 952 first count votes in the tenth district. She inherited a substantial number of Joe Borg’s votes to get elected from the ninth. She will be contesting the same districts.

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The outsiders

John Dalli

Strengths
Traditionally associated with the Qormi 6th district which he will also contest, heavyweight candidate John Dalli will be contesting the tenth district for the first time. Dalli has also moved residence to St Julian’s.
As the only dissident voice in the PN’s parliamentary group he could attract the disgruntled but traditional Nationalist party voter. He is in tune with the kind of dissent expressed by the grass root PN supporter who feels excluded by the present administration.

Weaknesses
He lacks roots in the tenth district and the party machine could work against him. While he feels vindicated by a court sentence which found Joe Zahra guilty of fabricating a report against him, he could still face the next election without a definitive absolution from the Prime Minister.
Pippo Psaila

Strengths
He represents a novelty in both the ninth and tenth districts. He also enjoys the full support of the Prime Minister who personally met him to persuade him to stand as a
candidate.
Like George Pullicino, he is also a Sliema boy and like Robert Arrigo he has ties with sports associations such as the Melita football club and the Neptunes waterpolo club.
As a pioneer of bio-fuels in Malta he also has an environmentally and business friendly image. His role as governor of St Edward’s College places him in contact with upper class parents.
Psaila could attract pale blue voters who might be tempted to stay at home or vote AD.
He is also a household name due to his high profile in sports as Director of the Olympic committee and a former Malta coach.

Weaknesses
He does not have much time left to build a political base in a district populated by political heavyweights. His conservatism in moral matters like divorce and cohabitation could alienate potential voters.

Georg Sapiano

Strengths
A media personality in his own right, Sapiano is already a household name. Having declared that he would vote in favour of divorce if the Prime Minister granted a free vote on this issue, he is the only PN candidate to appeal to the liberal costituency.

Weaknesses
His strong personality could be intimidating, giving an impression of arrogance. His connections in the business world could also prove to be a double-edged sword.

Others

Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier enjoys a national profile as the capital city’s mayor and his family has some roots in Sliema. Another new candidate making waves in both districts in St Julian’s councillor Karl Gouder.
Gzira mayor Albert Rizzo has moved from the ninth to the tenth district. Donald Felice, who contested both districts in 1998 but was absent in 2003, will be contesting again on both ninth and tenth districts.
Franco Galea, who only gained 78 first count votes from the ninth district and found himself in parliament by an incredible stroke of luck after a second by-election following Joe Borg’s appointment as EU commissioner in 2004, could be upstaged by newcomers.
On the same district, Nationalist MP Joseph Falzon, who is the government’s representative on the MEPA board, was also elected in a by-election after gaining 339 first count votes.
The ninth district’s two backbenchers face competition from a motley crew of new candidates which include John Rizzo Naudi (son of the former Minister), hotelier Charles Selvaggi and even Josie Muscat’s brother, Noel Muscat. Yet as one of the new candidates told MaltaToday, most probably they will have to wait in the queue behind the established candidates.