PN protest to block Budget 2025 advertising on PBS turned down by court
Court says ‘educational spots’ on Budget 2025 could be carried out in a more ‘politically sensible manner’
A legal protest by the Nationalist Party to block what it claimed was partisan Budget 2025 advertising on the national broadcaster was turned down by a Court on Monday.
“In such a small politically polarised country it is difficult for a budget not to have a political element [but] it all depends on the degree,” said Madam Justice Miriam Hayman when delivering judgment on Monday.
In a previous ruling, the Maltese courts had provisionally upheld the PN’s request to stop PBS from broadcasting the Budget-related adverts. The court ordered PBS and the Broadcasting Authority (BA) to ensure neutrality in these adverts, in line with constitutional requirements.
The PN argued that these government-sponsored adverts breached broadcasting regulations because they lacked informative content and conveyed political messages.
In response, PBS said that it had broadcast similar spots under both Nationalist and Labour administrations in the past and stressed that, as long as the adverts complied with broadcasting laws, they fulfilled the broadcaster’s duty to inform the public.
The court stated that political parties undoubtedly had every right to seek balance from the national broadcaster, despite already broadcasting their views on party stations.
The PN did not want to face political bias through the government's publicity related to budget measures.
However, people also had a collective, fundamental right to receive explanations and analysis of both positive and negative budgetary measures, beyond the current administration's interest in showcasing its socio-economic achievements.
The court explained how it could not detach the budget from political elements.
In her judgment, the Madam Justice said the “educational spots” could be carried out in a “politically sensible manner”. She said rather than conveying the message “I gave you so much more than others [did],” the adverts could stick to the educational message.
“The dose must be controlled and balance must be respected,” the court said on the political element of the adverts. A spot featuring the Prime Minister giving some explanation “surely reaches undesirable levels,” the court said. “An educational explanatory spot need not irritate the opponent in order to fulfil its purpose towards the public.”
The court stated that this was where the Broadcasting Authority came into play, ensuring that such balance was upheld.
When reviewing the legal requirements for the PN’s injunction request to succeed, the court noted that the way in which the request was phrased meant it could never be upheld against the Authority. “Prohibiting the Authority from doing what the law allowed it to do is nonsensical.”
The court observed that the PN had filed a complaint before the Broadcasting Authority which upheld that complaint and ordered PBS to allocate 15 minutes of airtime to PN spots.
Moreover, those spots were to feature the party logo and were to be aired at prime time, during the break in the 8pm news bulletin.
It also pointed out the PN had more effective ways of countering the lack of balance it was lamenting.
After considering all factors, the court concluded that the PN had failed to demonstrate the prejudice it would suffer unless the injunction was upheld.
It was not enough for the party to express discontent with the situation; it needed to show that the lack of balance was so severe and placed the party at such a disadvantage that it had a disproportionate chilling effect, which was "catastrophic" for the Opposition.
If proportionality were to be interpreted in a purely subjective way, every warrant of this nature would be upheld, with “all the serious consequences for the country’s administration.”
During the proceedings, PBS presented recordings of budget spots aired when the PN was in government. But the court remained unimpressed.
Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo assisted PBS. Lawyer Mark Refalo assisted the Broadcasting Authority. Lawyer Paul Borg Olivier assisted the PN.
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