Maltese Political Union


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. It emerged as the largest party in Parliament as a result of the 1921 elections, and its leader Joseph [Howard (Prime Minister)|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 Nationalist Party (Malta, 1921–1926)|Democratic Nationalist Party] to stay in power. In 1926 the two parties merged to form the Nationalist [Party (Malta)|Nationalist Party].
In 1947 the Democratic [Action Party (Malta)|Democratic Action Party] was established as a revived Maltese Political Union.

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.