The media and the election campaign in Malta : a change in three decades

Abstract

The election campaign of 2013 presented a number of challenges. The Nationalist Party on one hand defended its past history while the Labour Party presented the image of a new beginning. Both parties relied on traditional media to spread the message. However, in different ways both parties resorted to social media for reaching out to their publics. Because of its history, the Nationalist Party is attached to the 80s while the Labour Party was determined not to let history be a significant part of the campaign. The first part of the study will discuss the role played by the Nationalist Party, one of the main protagonists in this turbulent period, to re-define and re-establish the notion of freedom of expression within the local legal framework. In all probability, this period offers the most turbulent era in the history of the Nationalist Party and what can be seen as a breakthrough in the local development of our understanding of freedom of expression. In subsequent years these events established themselves as a recurring election theme. But not in the 2013 election campaign! This was a different message to a different public. [...]