Malta’s Labour party wins record fourth term amid Middle East crisis

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - NAXXAR, Malta — Prime Minister Robert Abela's Labour Party claimed an unprecedented fourth successive general election ‌victory in Malta on Sunday, riding voter confidence in a strong economy, although the size of its overall majority was reduced.

"This is a victory of all the people based on the programme we presented for all the people," theoutgoing prime minister told reporters after results showed his party had "won a strong mandate".

“Today we have written a page in history, together,” Abela told cheering crowds from the balcony of the party headquarters, as supporters chanted “Robert is our leader, Hallelujah!“

The 48-year-old had called a snap election in light of geopolitical uncertainties, saying the government needed a fresh mandate in order to shield the import-reliant island from the Middle East crisis.

Fireworks were set off across the tiny Mediterranean island and ecstatic Labour supporters dressed in the party’s red chanted “four times!” after officials in the Counting House in Naxxar said preliminary results gave the election to the governing party.

While Malta’s economy grew 4.0 percent last year, there are concerns the Middle East conflict could have an impact on tourism due to spiralling aviation fuel costs and drive up inflation.

Abela campaigned on Labour’s economic record since 2013, pledging stability in a period of uncertainty.

“I’ve voted Labour since I was a little girl, I’m thrilled,” 73-year-old Margaret Camilleri told AFP, as Labour supporters drove past on a truck with speakers blaring the Queen song “We are the Champions.”

Abela’s main rival was Nationalist Party (PN) candidate Alex Borg, a 30-year-old lawyer and former “Mr World Malta” beauty pageant winner, who had urged the Maltese to vote for change.

Labour won 52 percent of the votes, while the National Party pocketed 45 percent, according to Malta’s Electoral Commission.

Abela has led Malta since 2020, when his predecessor quit following a political crisis over the assassination in 2017 of reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia, who exposed corruption at the highest level in the country.

According to a 2025 Council of Europe report, Malta remains significantly behind in the fight against corruption — but the issue was not a hot topic on the campaign trail.

Malta’s economic performance trumped other concerns.

Located off the coast of Sicily, Malta is the smallest and most densely populated country in the European Union, with around 550,000 people living in 316 square kilometers (122 square miles).

The island has a thriving economy based largely on tourism, online gaming and financial services, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU.

But despite a low birth rate the population has grown nearly 30 percent over a decade, driven largely by immigrants.

That has fueled a construction boom, filling the skyline with cranes, creating traffic bottlenecks and putting a strain on key services.

Heritage groups have denounced environmental degradation and risks to UNESCO world heritage sites in the former British colony.

The country has very few natural resources and imports much of its energy, leaving it exposed to external shocks.

Labour heavily subsidises energy bills and pledged to continue doing so.

Malta is also on the front line of climate change and at risk of desertification and drought, but neither main party made the issue its priority.

No third party has held even a seat in Malta’s parliament since before independence in 1964.