Proof of political maturity

Emotions have run high over the past days. We are, on the one hand, preparing to bid farewell to an astute politician who led Malta through some of the most trying political times of recent history. Eddie Fenech Adami carried out his institutional roles as Leader of the Opposition, Prime Minister and President in an exemplary manner, giving each specific appointment the particular dignity it deserved. Today, at the end of his illustrious career, Dr Fenech Adami is lauded by one and all for the service he gave to our nation.

Farewells, however, are ill-serviced if they do not provide a platform for us to look forward. Within hours, the Maltese will be united under the Presidency of George Abela, a politician whose humility and fair sense of judgment have won him the support of the absolute majority of the Maltese as represented by our elected members of Parliament. In Dr Abela lies our collective hope for a renewed period of national unity, as has been pre-empted by the very act of political maturity displayed by our Prime Minister in his choice of President.

Over the past few days, we have also had the occasion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Freedom Day. My comments at the Nationalist Party's general council last Sunday, together with the ensuing debate on Bondiplus and Joseph Muscat's own remarks at the Labour Party's Freedom Day mass meeting, though not necessarily correlated, seem to have sparked a national debate on the need for a National Day, which unites the Maltese public.

Though the discussion on a single National Day does not have any direct association with the change of guard of our Presidency, I could not but compare the two issues within the wider perspective of political maturity.

Political maturity: two words that have been bandied about so much over the past few months that they risk losing significance and worth.

But they do bear relevance when reviewed in the context of these two major events. For while the Prime Minister can justifiably argue that he has demonstrated political maturity by choosing a candidate (for the Presidency) who is not from the traditional Nationalist fold and who inspires a strong level of confidence from all sides of the political sphere, the same cannot really be argued by Dr Muscat.

By agreeing with Dr Abela's nomination, Dr Muscat cannot truly boast of having taken a politically-mature decision. On the contrary, he can only stake his claim at having taken the obvious decision of agreeing to the candidature of an individual who bore the seal of a traditional PL background.

Had he disagreed with the nomination, I shudder to imagine the repercussions within the Labour fold.

Dr Muscat and his predecessor, Alfred Sant, would have truly shown political maturity had they approved of Dr Fenech Adami's nomination for the Presidency five years ago. At the time, all hell broke loose when D Fenech Adami's name was initially mentioned, even though he truly encapsulated all Malta stood for at the time, that is, a nation that had become a fully-fledged EU member state and which was fully integrating itself into what was, by all means, a new reality.

Dr Fenech Adami's "European" face was flawless, so much so that he was awarded the European of the Year 2003 Award by European Voice, a prominent European newspaper that is well-established in Brussels.

Today, five years on, the Leader of the Opposition (represented by Charles Mangion because Dr Muscat had "other commitments" abroad) has taken back the original disapproval of Dr Fenech Adami's candidacy by stating that Dr Fenech Adami raised the profile of the Presidency to bring about much-needed unity.

Back in 1987, Dr Fenech Adami understood that we were divided over which feasts were most significant in our nation's history. He chose instead to propose five national feasts, which would unite our country during a period that, undoubtedly, called for national unity and reconciliation.

Last Sunday, I challenged the Labour leader to really show political maturity by taking the initiative and declaring Independence Day as the obvious choice for a single National Day. Dr Muscat has chosen not to give an opinion and to let a "debate" take place.

How convenient!

I imagine he'll keep his cards close to his chest for the timebeing, that is, until he establishes which option seems to be the most popular.

Little does he know that, as in most of his decisions over the past few months, political maturity is based on the dictum of "what's popular is not always right and what's right is not always popular".

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david@davidcasa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu