The EU referendum: Meaningless

When a government in a democracy refers an issue of political contention to its citizens for their decision through a referendum, it is implied that the citizens will be well informed about the issue at stake.

This is surely not the case in Malta where the government has failed in its duty to provide objective information on the pros and cons of European Union membership where Malta is concerned. Thus, many Maltese citizens have been denied the means to an informed opinion on the issue of EU membership or otherwise.

However, the picture is further complicated by the fact that the Nationalist government has always acted according to the premise that a victory at a general election in which one among many other points in the PN general manifesto was the promise to strive for European Union membership, meant that it had a mandate from the Maltese people to negotiate for Malta`s membership of the European Union.

So, using this same PN logic as a point of departure, what sense is there in holding a referendum on EU membership or otherwise? Let the outcome of the next general election decide this issue!

A referendum on the EU issue is also meaningless because the question of EU membership or partnership cannot be decided in a vacuum, i.e., divorced from the rest of events in Malta.

This is the strategy adopted by the Nationalist Party since September 5, 1998. The reason is obvious. The Nationalist Party`s performance in government has been so poor that it is left with no other choice but to divorce the EU issue from what a government is supposed to do - govern in the best interests of all its citizens!

This is the decisive factor in this whole EU issue. What do the Maltese want? Membership and a PN government or partnership and an MLP government? There is no other choice.

After its disastrous performance in government during the period 1992-1996, the Nationalist Party was given another chance in 1998. This was not because of any shortcomings on the part of the Labour government but because of reasons unrelated to its performance in government. This time around, the Nationalist government`s performance has been even more disastrous than during the period 1992-96.

The main reason why the Nationalist government has performed so badly is that it has concentrated all its energies on getting Malta into the European Union to the exclusion of all else where the government of the country is concerned.

The hour of truth is approaching for all Maltese citizens. The EU referendum is meaningless, it`s the result of the next general election that counts.

Do you want good, clean strong government in the best interests of all Maltese citizens? Do you want the best possible relationship with the European Union in the best interests of both Malta and the EU? Do you want a leader worthy of the high standards set by past Maltese prime ministers? Then vote for the Malta Labour Party at the next general election and follow its directives on the EU referendum, if it is held.

As for those Maltese who still harbour the illusion that the Nationalist Party in government and EU membership for Malta offer some kind of solution to the country`s problems, to the future, of our children, I ask them to stop deluding themselves. EU membership will not guarantee our children`s future, as the PN tries to hoodwink the Maltese into thinking. Good government and partnership with the EU will, however.

We are at present celebrating the 60th anniversary of the decisive period of the siege sustained by Malta during the war. Borrowing freely from a part of one of Sir Winston Churchill`s famous wartime speeches and applying it to the present situation of Malta under the Nationalist government, it is no exaggeration to say that "never in the annals of Maltese history has the future of so many been compromised by the incompetence of so few". Reflect on it!