Labour dismisses PM's national day proposal

The Labour Party has given short shrift to the Prime Minister's suggestion that Independence Day should be declared the national holiday, saying the country had more important issues to discuss at this time.

A party spokesman said people were worried about rising unemployment and cost of living, adding that such suggestions by Lawrence Gonzi just went to show how out of touch he was.

Fielding questions on TV talk show BondiPlus on Monday, Dr Gonzi argued that September 21 was the natural choice for the national day since it was the day the Maltese State was born and all other milestones, including Republic Day and Freedom Day, "stemmed from it".

But the argument is not likely to be so straightforward for many in the Labour party, who see Freedom Day particularly, the day Malta ceased to be a British military base, as the true fulfilment of independence. The discord on the importance of these milestones has produced the political stalemate through which Malta is probably the only country in the world to have five national holidays.

On Monday's show, Dr Gonzi said he felt the time was right to take another step "to unite the people" following the appointment of George Abela as the first President from the Opposition camp.

"I have taken this step in the choice of President, now I think we can take this second step. I believe that logically it should be the birth of our State that should be the national holiday, that is Independence Day, on September 21. Everything stems from that day," he said.

But the Labour party insisted, when asked for its reaction, that the priorities lie elsewhere, adding that the Prime Minister should not stir up controversy over a day (the national holiday) which could unite and not divide the people.

Ironically, the question was put to the Prime Minister after, on a previous show, Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat had said he would be prepared to discuss having a single national holiday.

The Green Party was more forthcoming. "Certainly we are all out in favour of setting Independence Day as our national holiday but it isn't a decision that can be imposed or it will divide the country," said party leader Arnold Cassola.

The decision needed to be discussed, he said.