Divorce initiative and the people's say (2)

According to the opinion poll carried out by timesofmalta.com on whether a decision on divorce should be taken by Parliament or by the people at a referendum, over 77 per cent had opted for a referendum at the time of writing.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has fallen in love with the Irish mode of divorce but he overlooked the fact that divorce in Ireland was introduced in 1995 through a referendum and not by a Private Member's Bill. At least, he should have asked for a referendum first, even though, according to the Constitution of Malta, it would not be binding in this case.

Since marriage precedes the state, and the family is the foundation cell of society, divorce will affect marriages, families and the whole of society.

In other words it will have an impact - in this case a negative one - on me, on you and on all Maltese and Gozitans.

So, all Maltese and Gozitans must have a direct and clear say on the introduction or otherwise of divorce in our legislation. This "direct and clear say" points only to a referendum.

At a general election, all political parties will have many issues in their electoral programmes. So, mixing divorce with other issues is not advisable. At most, they can promise a referendum on divorce during their term of office, if elected. A Private Member's Bill is inadequate to such an important and national issue as divorce.