Divorce and politics (3)

By holding a referendum, the government undermines its own role and the importance of elected representatives whenever tough decisions need to be taken. The government has decided not to take a position on the divorce controversy. The opposition is equally complacent and agreed to the idea of holding a referendum.

Why are our democratically elected MPs unable to conduct a civilised and constructive discussion in Parliament on this subject? It is their duty to do so and later take a vote. They were elected to take decisions in the best interest of the citizens and not pass the buck back to us. MPs are also failing to protect the interests of the minorities.

Why was a referendum not held to decide on electricity bills, if the retiring age should be 65 or if we should retain or expel illegal immigrants?

The referendum is being used as a political weapon. On one hand, the Prime Minister is quite sure the pro-divorce campaigners will fail and therefore divorce will not be introduced during this legislature. On the other hand, the opposition is quite happy with this situation because it can later append the divorce issue to Labour’s electoral campaign and gain political mileage from this sensitive issue. Both parties are manipulating the public and trying to use us as pawns. Therefore I choose not to be part of this farce and as a matter of principle I will not be voting in the referendum.

Serious discussion on divorce has been minimal, infantile and polarised. Maltese voters don’t have the ability to make educated decisions about such an issue. Unfortunately, most will vote based on ill-informed decisions supported by partial knowledge or unrelated factors.

We have elected a government to protect our interests, including those of minorities, and if the Prime Minister is against divorce, a decision which I respect, he should say so but see what needs to be done to protect vulnerable people from the effects of the numerous broken families.

Let’s not allow our politicians, both government and opposition, to continue taking us for a ride by calling referenda only when it suits their interests. During the referendum I will be far away from a polling booth and I urge all intelligent Maltese citizens to boycott it too.