Divorce should be in Labour’s manifesto –MP

The position that the Labour Party should include divorce in its manifesto rather than leave it up to the leader to personally push the issue is gaining ground, with a senior MP being the latest to voice his agreement.

Speaking during the television discussion programme Bondiplus on Monday, Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said he expected the party to go to the polls with a clear proposal to introduce divorce if elected to government.

His declaration contrasts with the pledge made by Labour leader Joseph Muscat to personally table a divorce Bill and give a free vote to his parliamentary group if the party was elected to government in the next election.

Dr Muscat’s position means the introduction of divorce would depend on his personal commitment rather than the party’s.

When asked whether he agreed with Mr Bartolo’s stand, a spokesman for Dr Muscat said the leader’s position “remained unchanged”.

However, he added, Dr Muscat “positively viewed” the fact there was an internal open debate within the party.

“Dr Muscat is following this debate closely. All views expressed freely within the party are being given due consideration,” the spokesman said, criticising the Prime Minister and “his coterie” for “unilaterally” deciding the Nationalist Party will stand on an anti-divorce platform.

“This is not surprising given that 12 years have passed since the PN promised to recognise the rights and obligations of cohabiting couples but nothing has happened. These families continue to suffer,” the Labour spokesman said.

On Bondiplus, Mr Bartolo was reacting to a question by the programme host on how it was possible to reconcile the anti-divorce position of some Labour MPs with the pro-divorce views of others.

Mr Bartolo replied that prospective Labour candidates would know what the party was proposing in its manifesto before deciding to contest on its behalf, adding he expected divorce to be included in the manifesto.

Mr Bartolo’s statement was not unique because it followed a motion approved during the PL’s youth forum annual conference in December urging the party to include divorce in its electoral programme.

Labour youth forum president Daniel Micallef had said that gone were the days when the party remained a step back from saying what it truly believed.

“As a progressive party, one of the crucial issues for us is civil rights. In a country that has been part of the EU for five years, we can no longer have a situation where, when discussion arises on certain rights, such issues are sidelined, swept under the carpet or gagged by the conservative authorities,” Mr Micallef had said.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com