VALLETTA (Reuters) - Malta will hold a parliamentary election on May 30, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday, calling the vote a year before his current five-year term expires.
Abela said in a televised message that with the coming months expected to be "crucial" given the international situation, Malta needed a government which could focus solely on stability.
"Only this government can continue to provide the stability that the country needs," he said, while stressing that the country was well prepared financially and he could guarantee that energy prices would continue to be stable.
His Labour Party government holds a comfortable majority in the Maltese parliament and opinion polls show it is on track to easily win a record fourth successive term.
Malta's economy is among the best performers in Europe, with the deficit at 2.2% of GDP, government debt at 46%, low inflation and no real unemployment, with the country needing to import foreign workers for many sectors.
However, concerns have been raised that the current conflict in the Middle East could spike inflation for a country reliant on imports, and also undermine tourism as aviation fuel prices rise.
Speculation over an early election had been mounting for weeks, with the prime minister hinting at an announcement during several recent speeches.
Abela's chief opponent will be Alex Borg, who was elected leader of the centre-right Nationalist Party just months ago.
Only these two parties have been represented in Malta's parliament since 1966.
Labour currently holds 55% of the seats, a record gap over its Nationalist rivals in a country where margins have traditionally been much tighter.
Turnout at the polls is usually in the region of 90%.