Joseph Muscat is portraying himself as the saviour of our democracy. Although this new political era contrasts sharply, to say the least, with his predecessor's high-handed "undemocratic" way of doing politics, we must not forget that Dr Muscat has been politically active in the Labour camp for over 15 years. When we see him opportunistically flaunting his newly-found "democratic" credentials we tend to forget that Labour's total lack of cooperation with the government severely contributed towards any democracy deficit suffered under a "pig-headed" Labour opposition.
It is all very well for Dr Muscat to turn over a new leaf and offer to "strengthen" our democracy but it is still unforgivable that he abstained from making his voice heard for so many years. A case in point: In 2001, the Nationalist Party had proposed constitutional amendments specifically regarding the residence requisite. The PN has always held that registered voters, whatever their circumstance: working with the EU, private companies registered or not registered in Malta, sickness travel, overseas study sessions, missionaries, etc, but are still resident in Malta, have the right to vote. Unfortunately, Labour strongly objected to these amendments as it infallibly does when the Nationalists propose anything.
We are living in a global village in the 21st century; most of us are anyway. Just two months ago, addressing a meeting with Labour delegates on May 7, Evarist Bartolo argued that there are more Labourites in Malta than there are Nationalists because, at the last election, the PN received about 4,000 votes from Maltese who lived abroad and who have now left the island. What nonsense.
The electorate is not trapped in a time warp. Maltese voters who travel back and forth to our island have every right to cast their vote. That should be the end of the story. But, no, according to Mr Bartolo, parroting deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia's outbursts, the PN is "an unscrupulous machine that grabbed and stole votes". Fictional insinuations that the electorate is made up of fools gullible enough to be robbed by anyone are simply unacceptable in this day and age. They are as pathetic as the Leader of the Opposition, Charles Mangion's claim that the Nationalists have something "bad" in their DNA.
Claiming that, in recent years, the government dismantled every verification system to check whether voters from abroad can lawfully vote, Labour argued that the Maltese citizens who live abroad and who were brought back to Malta to vote affected the outcome of the March 8 polls.
To prove his point, during his speech in Parliament, Alfred Sant had tabled the data of some 2,226 persons who came from abroad to vote. Out of these, Dr Sant said, only a maximum of 23 per cent were Labour-leaning (even if no one flew in to vote the PN would have won anyway).
True to his old form, he alleged that the Nationalists were given preferential treatment while the Labourites were discriminated against. Untrue: my son and most of his friends had to climb countless obstacles to find a return flight from the UK.
Why does Labour insist on causing unnecessary rifts between us? We are all Maltese, whether we live on the island for most of the time or not. Malta is not isolated from the rest of the world and people can travel right round the world and back in a flash. Now that we are an integral part of the European Union, a new world of work opportunities is up for grabs (not thanks to Labour) and our nationals studying or working abroad are no less Maltese than the rest of us living here.
A democratic country's Constitution should develop in synch with the times and reflect modern exigencies. It is indeed incredible that, instead of looking forward, revamping itself and renovating its strategy, to quote Dr Mangion, Labour is only now "an opposition committed to renew itself after decades in the wilderness" (The Times, July 23). Labour has hung on for dear life to an archaic mentality and close-minded practices and Dr Muscat et al have been sitting pretty on the fence for far too long.
But all is not yet lost. Dr Muscat's experience within the European Parliament is a great asset and should not go to waste. It should propel him to agree "unconditionally" to the proposals put forward by the PN in 2001. Enabling sick people to vote in hospitals, allowing all overseas-registered voters to vote in foreign embassies and/or to download their voting document from the internet and mail it to the proper authorities would be a great beginning to start fine-tuning our Constitution.