Shaking off the past

Tension was palpable this time six years ago when the votes of the EU referendum were being counted. We were all glued to our television screens. The next day, March 10, 2003, in a logic-defying report titled The Majority Of The People Want A Partnership, l-orizzont reported the result of the EU referendum in this incredible manner:

"'No votes, invalid votes and those who abstained from voting amounted to 154,626. No votes on their own amounted to 123,628, whereas invalid votes amounted to 3,928. Yes votes amounted to 143,094. The difference between those who voted 'yes' and those who voted 'no', spoiled their ballot or abstained amounted to 11,532 votes. Those who voted 'yes' amounted to 48.1 per cent whereas those who voted 'no', spoiled their ballot or abstained amounted to 51.9 per cent."

Read it again and again because it truly defies logic.

And l-orizzont added: "Although the Department of Information published on its website a notice on which there had to be the result of the votes cast with the amounts of valid votes, 'yes' votes and 'no' votes on each counting table, it turned out that only the result of votes cast was issued."

Addressing a meeting soon after the result, the then leader of the Labour Party, Alfred Sant, was reported in the same newspaper as stating (as he waved his voting card):

"An absolute majority of 52 per cent chose the Labour Party's Partnership - by either voting against, by abstaining from voting or by invalidating the vote - and therefore it is just a minority of the electorate that agreed with the question put in (Eddie) Fenech Adami's consultative referendum."

It all seems like light years away. But it is just six years ago that this incredible hogwash was stated by the leaders of the Labour Party. And the country was inches away from losing its place in Europe.

Six years on, does it really matter anymore?

Yes it does, because today, the Labour Party is led by one of the most prominent figures of its vehement No campaign who had framed his voting card rather than using it to secure your future in Europe. And although he now claims to have converted to all things European, writing in l-orizzont just a few days before the referendum, Joseph Muscat very categorically stated the opposite: "I am proud to work in the Labour Party. I am proud to be in this party, which is telling people to vote 'no', to abstain from voting or to invalidate their votes in the consultative referendum."

So is he no longer proud today? And how can we be sure that he means what he says today when he was convinced of the opposite just a few years ago? How can we be sure that he is right today when he got it so wrong yesterday?

That is not all.

A look at the Labour Party's "exceptional" team of candidates for the upcoming European Parliament gives little hope for reassurance. Among them is Sharon Ellul Bonici, who was reported as follows in l-orizzont on March 10, 2003.

"On her part, the founder of the No2EU group, Sharon Ellul Bonici, commented that although there were more 'yes' votes than 'no' votes, not all people voted and less than 50 per cent of the people who were eligible to vote voted in favour of EU membership. Therefore, No2EU was satisfied with the result because less than 50 per cent of eligible voters voted in favour, in accordance with the directive of the Labour Party."

At least Ms Ellul Bonici has been one of the most consistent, having only come around to renouncing her anti-EU views a few weeks ago when she joined Labour's "dream team". But does that make you feel better?

And, to boot, Dr Sant - who claimed that the partnership had won - is back on the rampage with regular forays in the press about how, on EU membership, he was right and we were wrong.

For Labour, evoking memories of its recent anti-EU past is taboo. But for the rest of us it should not be. Inasmuch as Labour may like to do so, history cannot be re-written. The anniversary of the EU referendum helps us reflect on how far Labour has come since its ill-fated partnership went bust.

Even if one had to make allowance for Dr Muscat's decision to frame his voting card, recent events, such as Dr Sant's return in the press and the choice of Labour MEP candidates, do not help us shake off our unease.

The truth is that, six years on, Labour is still less than convincing on Europe.

Ask your MEP on www.simonbusuttil.eu. Visit the new site www.stopthedust.org.

Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.