The politics of labelling

In his letter to The Times (October 3), Victor Spiteri describes the EDD Group and its president, MEP Jens Peter Bonde, as "ultra right-wing".

Can Mr Spiteri back this political labelling? What research did he do to reach this conclusion?

As I already have had occasion to write, the EDD Group is an umbrella group for EU-critics and Eurorealists who are against the erosion of parliamentary democracy and against the creation of a centralised EU state. The political platform of the EDD is not "nationalist" or "right wing" politics, but democracy, transparency and decentralisation of power. It is also in defence of smaller states and their democratic voice in a centralised EU.

Moreover, Mr Bonde himself hails from the Danish radical left of the 1970s. In 1979, together with the Italian radicals Emma Bonino and Marco Panella, he formed the first technical coordination group in the European parliament and in 1984 he co-founded the Rainbow Group, today incorporating both regionalists and the Greens. For the 1994-99 legislature he co-founded the Europe of Nations Group, which still exists today, and since 1999 he has chaired the Europe of Diversities and Democracies Group.

Mr Bonde dedicates his political career to transparency and democracy, with over 40 books, educating and informing the people about political realities that others prefer to hide.

He has a soft spot for Malta. Yes, he did help the no side and the Labour Party during the referendum campaign. In fact, he believed in Labour's partnership option more than anyone in these islands. He even featured on TV spots on partnership, produced by Labour.

As for Mr Spiteri's assumption that I am urging Labour to join the EDD Group, he needs some long overdue updating to do. He must have been referring to an executive committee meeting last spring, where I distributed a report highlighting three options available to Labour following its last electoral defeat.

But Labour has long decided on joining the PES, which, no doubt to Mr Spiteri's surprise, also has space for EU-critical members and Eurorealists.

So before scribbling letters, Mr Spiteri should first update his information. In politics there is neither black nor white, for there is always a shade of grey. Throwing labels around is the totalitarian way of doing politics.