The Maltese Political Union (, ) was a political party in Malta.
History The party was established in 1920 by a merger of the Malta Political Association and the Patriotic Committee.Vincent E McHale (1983) Political parties of Europe, Greenwood Press, p634 It emerged as the largest party in Parliament as a result of the 1921 elections, and its leader Joseph Howard became the country's first Prime Minister. Two of the most popular politicians within the party were Enrico Dandria and Ignazio Panzavecchia, both clerics representing the party in Parliament.
The 1924 elections saw the party reduced to ten seats, and it had to form a coalition with the Democratic Nationalist Party to stay in power. On 16 January 1926 the two parties merged to form the Nationalist Party.
In 1947 the Democratic Action Party was established as a revived Maltese Political Union.McHale, p631
Ideology The party sought to give the Italian language equal status with English in education and to progress towards self-government. It also defended the powers of the Catholic church.
Election results Legislative Assembly ElectionLeaderVotes%Seats+/–RankStatus 1921 Joseph Howard 7,999 39.07 New 1st 1924 Francesco Buhagiar 6,553 27.23 4 2nd
Senate ElectionLeaderFirst preferenceSecond preferenceSeats+/–RankStatus Votes % Votes % 1921 Joseph Howard 1,611 57.951,63563.25 New 1st
References