Alternattiva and the Environmentalist Vote

 

Every time I read anything remotely connected to our local hunters, I think to myself what a pity it is that some of our most committed local environmentalists have unwittingly taken the decision to effectively remove themselves from the political equation, leaving no specific counterweight to the hunters' lobby, which may not be as strong as some may think it is, but is nevertheless still a force that mainstream politicians have to take into account.

The main parties make little effort to win over diehard Alternattiva voters for the simple reason that not even the greenest manifesto that they could produce would outgreen Alternattiva. The most that they could win from such voters, as long as Alternattiva is contesting elections, is their second preference (or subsequent preferences), which are of limited value under the existing electoral system and will be completely worthless for this purpose once the agreed changes to the electoral system come into effect. Moreover, it makes more sense for the major parties to take votes from each other, as such votes effectively count double in a two-horse race.

Alternattiva's recent response to its own predicament has been to try and entrench itself in one or two districts and they have chosen Gozo, of all places, as one of their main targets. I have already expressed my views regarding this strategy in a previous post, and I will not comment any further here. However, having made this choice, they should at least desist from contesting those districts where they are not seriously trying to win a seat. It would not harm them and it would at least allow a greater part of the core environmentalist vote to make its presence felt in the strategies of the two major parties.