Why had Mabel Strickland switched support to PN?

Abstract

Mabel Strickland, fourth daughter of Lord Strickland, certainly one of the most controversial figures in Maltese politics last century and whose name still resonates today, had an interesting and varied life. She was garrulous, domineering and highly active at a time when women were considered best suited to be left behind in the kitchen. But why had she switched support to the Nationalist Party in 1952? She had actually switched support to George Borg Olivier’s coalition with the Malta Workers’ Party. When she had stuck with her father through thick and thin in all his political battles, right from the start of self-government in 1921 to the very difficult years of his administration till he passed away in 1940, few could understand her move, which ultimately led to the collapse of the Constitutional Party, or as it was more popularly known, il-partit ta’ Strickland