Maltese Patriots Movement Moviment Patrijotti Maltin
Abbreviation	MPM
Leader	Simon Borg
Founded	8 April 2016 (2016-04-08)
Ideology	Right-wing populism Social conservatism Anti-Islam
Political position	Far-right
Religion	Roman Catholicism
House of Representatives	0 / 67
European Parliament	0 / 6
Local Council Seats	0 / 462
Website
patrijottimaltin.org
Politics of Malta Political parties Elections

The Maltese Patriots Movement ( Maltese: Moviment Patrijotti Maltin, MPM) is an inactive right-wing populist political party in Malta. It was formed in April 2016 as a political wing of the Maltese Patriotic Association. ^[1]

History

The MPM was founded on the 8 April 2016 and immediately announced its application to the Electoral Commission as a new political party under the Financing of Political Parties Act. ^{[2] [3]} In the 2017 Maltese general election, the party failed to elect any candidate in parliament. ^[4] Shortly after the 2019 European Parliament election, the party became inactive, while its social media accounts went inactive later in 2020.

Positions

The Maltese Patriots Movement is oriented towards far-right politics. ^{[5] [6]} It has expressed right-wing populist rhetoric by stating opposition to immigration and criticizing Islam. ^{[5] [7]} It has called for European Union funds allocated to Malta for the purpose be instead allocated for the benefit of Maltese people and for Malta to no longer be a member of the Schengen Area. ^[8] It also opposes the Maltese government's endorsement of the non-binding Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. ^[9] It has also expressed ethnic nationalist, ^[10] and socially conservative stances. ^[11]

At an October 2016 protest led by the party against the possible opening of a Muslim prayer room in Buġibba, leader Henry Battistino called for a national registry of Muslims and compared Muslim immigrants to rabbits breeding excessively. ^[12] Stephen Florian, an MPM party official, also spoke at the protest and stated that any religion other than Roman Catholicism should only have one place of worship in the country. ^[13] Florian later caused controversy when he outed a counter-protester from the Buġibba protest as transgender. ^[14]

MPM is frequently hostile toward media and the Maltese establishment, with Battistino referring to the media as traitors that are trying to "force [integration] down everyone's throats". ^[12] The party's sister organisation, Għaqda Patrijotti Maltin, was the subject of a complaint from the Institute of Maltese Journalists for protesters obstructing reporters from doing their job. ^[15]

Election results

General elections

European Parliament elections

References

External links

• Official website (in Maltese)