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This autonomy was greatly extended in 1921 with the introduction of a dyarchy: local affairs came under Maltese control, while the United Kingdom remained in charge of foreign affairs and defense.

the franchise was extended to all male british subjects having an income of 5 per year or more or paying a similar amount of rent. these groups ranged from the conservative unione politica to the left-leaning labour party, all of which had different ideas about malta's political future.
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the maltese constitutional party, for example, wanted close union with the united kingdom, whereas the nationalists favored association with italy. poli- tics also became entangled in personal rivalries and the economic prob- lems related to low military expenditures. during world war ii the constitution was suspended and malta was put under direct military rule. the new constitution introduced universal suffrage and a unicameral legislative assembly. the labour party, headed by paul boffa, having received 60 percent of the votes and twenty-four of the forty-eight seats in the legislative assembly, formed a cabinet; the nationalist party, under enrico mizzi, won nine seats and became the main opposition party. two years later the labour party split over british policy toward the dismissal of redundant shipyard workers, but boffa continued in office with a minority government until 1950. in the september 1950 elections the nationalists won twelve assembly seats, and mizzi formed a minority government with the support of the workers' party, which had been organized after the labour party split.
on his death, mizzi was succeeded by giorgio borg-olivier. in the 1950s the malta labour party favored complete integration with the united kingdom, while the nationalists wanted to obtain common- wealth status. the labour government negotiated for integration, but serious objections were raised on both sides about the wisdom of apply- ing to malta british laws, especially those pertaining to the minimum wage and social security system. the maltese catholic church was concerned about losing its prominent position, and many people feared that they would lose their maltese cultural identity.
a referendum was won by prointegration forces, but a majority of voters abstained. during the ensuing period of colonial administration both major parties came to favor independence, although the small parties continued to raise objections. the united kingdom, after some negotiations, agreed to most of the demands. the politics of independent malta since independence, the island's politics have been dominated by the nationalist and labour parties, each of which has strongly influenced the economic and social structure of maltese society. to prevent a possible tie, despite labour's opposition the nationalist-dominated assembly amended the constitu- tion to increase the number of legislative seats to fifty-five.
(the number had been increased again.) the nationalists thought they were robbed of a victory and boycotted the assembly until march 1983. following the 1981 election the nationalists demanded that the con- stitution be amended to guarantee that the party that won the majority of the popular vote would also win the parliamentary majority. labour, for its part, wanted malta to be constitutionally declared neutral and nonaligned.
the nationalists impressed the electorate with their call for a change and received 50. under the new rules they also obtained thirty-five parliamentary seats and, for the first time in seventeen years, formed a government. although both parties try to appeal to the median group of voters, the political climate is often acrimonious, sometimes verging on violence. of the two larger parties, the nationalists are the more conservative. in office they have initiated many dirigiste policies, but they want the state to encourage and guide private enterprise, not supplant it. by contrast, the labour party's social and economic ideas closely parallel those of the more left-wing factions of the british labour party. the malta labour party displays a distrust, verging on disregard, of the market mechanism, and favors an econom- ically active government, with public enterprise playing a major role in the economy.
it is strongly egalitarian and concerned with education and social services. historically, the gwru has derived most of its support from the left-leaning dockyard workers, who have had a tradition of direct action. since 1971 the secretary and the president of the gwru have sat in on cabinet meetings when the labour party is in power. in 1977 the party and the union were formally united; since then five members of each body sit on the other body's executive council, and the two organizations have established a coordinating committee in which both have equal membership and which both take turns chairing every six months. the cru derives most of its support from the movement of united teachers and other organizations of white-collar workers.
it has no formal political affiliation, but many of its members support the nationalists. the nationalist party also draws support from people in rural areas, the self-employed and profes- sionals, business, and the church. malta is a small country in which everybody knows everybody else, and personalities count as much as, if not more than, formal party programs.
the dominant personality of the 1970s was undoubtedly the labour party leader dom mintoff. an engineer-architect by training and a former rhodes scholar, mintoff combined a brilliant intellect and a forceful personality with confrontational approach to obtaining com- pensation for the british military withdrawal. his tactics not only ap- pealed to strong maltese sense of but, more important, were eminently successful in the maximum "rent" from the british.. ..