Constitutional Party (Malta)

The Constitutional Party was a pro-British political party in Malta. It had representatives in the Maltese Legislative Assembly and Council of Government between 1921 and 1945, and again between 1950 and 1953, forming a government between 1927 and 1930 with the support of the Labour Party. A splinter group, the Progressive Constitutionalist Party was represented in Parliament between 1962 and 1966. The party was very much centred on the figure (and wealth) of its long-time leader Lord Strickland, with party supporters colloquially known in Maltese as "Stricklandjani".

The Party was formed in 1921, in time for the first elections to the Legislative Assembly. It was a merger of Strickland's Anglo-Maltese Party and the Maltese Constitutional Party of Augusto Bartolo, editor of the Malta Chronicle. The predecessor parties had only recently been founded and the choice to merge was strategic: they were both pro-British and, united, they stood a better chance against the Nationalists.

Despite this, the merger still came as a surprise as there were some personality difference. Strickland had been Principal Government Secretary who had become unpopular for raising taxes through Orders in Council, something of which Bartolo was highly critical. It was rumoured that Strickland threatened Bartolo that he would use his personal wealth to create a paper that would kill off the Chronicle if the merger did not come about. Strickland was to make the threat true years later with the creation of Progress Press and the publication of the dailies Il-Berqa (in Maltese) and the Times of Malta which did, eventually, kill off the Chronicle.

The party did surprisingly well in the first elections, considering that everyone thought that Strickland's previous unpopularity would harm his chances. In the elections to the Legislative Assembly it obtained 25.31% of the first preference votes, and won 7 of the 32 seats. Strickland was appointed Leader of the Opposition.

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