Political telethons at Christmas? 81% of Maltese say ‘No thanks’
Festive fundraisers
Each year, the main political parties choose to organise their fund-raising activities around the Christmas season: a time when other organisations will be collecting for charity. Is it fair that charity fund-raisers such as Istrina have to compete with institutions that have their own newspapers and broadcast media?
Ghosts of surveys past:
December 2006
Do you agree with political party fund raising activities before Christmas? Yes 19
No 81
Do you intend to give a donation to a political party in the festive season? Yes 15
No 83.7
Do 1.3
September 2007:
Do you agree with state funding for political parties? Yes 31.7
No 48.7
Depends 7.3
Don’t know 12.7
How much did you donate to political parties in the past year? Nothing 69.9
Under €24 14.3
Between €24 and €47 5
More than €47 4
No Reply 7
Are parties influenced by donors when taking political decisions? Yes 70.3
No 11
Don’t know 18.7
Which party receives most donations from businessmen? PN 51.7
PL 0.7
Both 8.7
Don’t know 39.3
James Debono A MaltaToday survey in 2006 revealed that 81% of respondents do not agree with the political fund raising activities organised just two weeks before Christmas.
Only 15% said that they usually give donations in telethons during the festive season.
Older respondents were the most likely to give a donation to political parties during the festive period. While only 6.4% of those aged 18-34 donated to the parties, a quarter of those aged above 55 did so, an indication that partisan loyalties are at a low ebb among younger people.
Another survey carried out by Maltatoday in 2007 showed that the vast majority of respondents believe that donations from big business interests influence political parties in their decisions.
70% believe that parties are susceptible to influence from big donors, only 11% believe that political parties are not in any way influenced.
Just over half the respondents – 52% – believe that the PN receives the largest portion of donations from businessmen. By way of contrast, only 0.7 % believe that the MLP enjoys the larger share of the pie. Eight per cent believe that both big parties receive equal portions from big business.
Despite recognising that political parties are influenced by big donors, the majority of the Maltese do not want to fund political parties from their taxes, with only 32% agreeing with a system of State funding.
Forty-seven per cent agree that political parties should declare donations over a certain amount. But 41% are opposed to this measure of transparency – an indication that a vast portion of the electorate is wary of any State interference in political life.
Fifteen per cent of respondents insist that any donation, irrespective of the amount, should be declared. A further 12.7 % think that any donation over €1170 (Lm500) should be declared.
Although political parties pride themselves on receiving donations from the masses, the vast majority of respondents – 70% – do not give any donations to political parties. But the 23% who admit giving money to political parties are nonetheless a considerable source of money.
The majority of respondents (53%) agree with the law capping the expenditure of candidates in an electoral campaign at 1,400 in each district contested. But the majority of respondents (58%) believe that candidates are not abiding by the law.
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