PN General Secretary Paul Borg Olivier has proposed a motion for the Nationalist Party to adopt a position ‘in favour of the family and against the introduction of divorce’ while granting its MPs a free vote in Parliament.
The motion, which will be voted on at a meeting of the party executive committee on Saturday, also recommends to the government that should Parliament approve a Bill for the introduction of divorce, its coming into force would depend on approval at a referendum held within two months.
The motion follows five meetings of the committee which discussed divorce after Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando just before the summer introduced a private member’s bill on divorce in Parliament.
In a reaction to the PN statement and motion, Dr Pullicino Orlando said he was pleased to note that the motion presented by Dr Paul Borg Olivier placed particular emphasis on the need to help strengthen families.
"I believe that marriage is the best way to ensure this, whenever possible. That is why the movement I form part of is suggesting that couples who are being forced to co-habit due to the fact that one or both of them has gone through the trauma of an irrevocably broken previous marriage should be allowed to re-marry, if they want to do so," Dr Pullicino Orlando said.
"I am pleased that the secretary general has re-affirmed that we will be given the opportunity to vote freely.
"I am also pleased to note that the issue, which has been simmering on a political back burner for far too long now, is to be addressed in the coming months. I will participating in this coming Saturday's meeting and suggesting some amendments to the motion before it is voted upon," Dr Pullicino Orlando said.
The Nationalist Party said that the discussion within its executive committee was characterised by a sense of political maturity, which amply showed that the party had no problem in discussing different views on delicate matters involving Maltese society and that it held within it different and divergent opinions on how the values, principles and aspiration of the party could be attained.
“The discussion held over the past few weeks was a very clear indicator that the Nationalist Party is prepared to discuss and take a clear position on the most important social themes for the country, while respecting divergent views and positions.”
This, the party said, was being done in the national interest and not on the basis on what was best for the party in electoral terms.
TEXT OF MOTION
The motion says that the executive committee after having discussed the issue:
"1. Notes that there is unanimous agreement that the family unit is the cornerstone of society and therefore it deserves total, firm and consistent support so that it can continue to be strengthened.
"2. The committee reaffirms the consistent political position of the Nationalist Party that the family in Malta should be built on permanent marriage between a woman and a man, which marriage is the best structure for a stable family environment for the children. The PN therefore reiterates its commitment to take whatever measures are necessary to strengthen marriage preparation and to facilitate family life.
"3. The committee recognises that there are circumstances which lead to the break-up of marriages, with detrimental consequences to the family, the children and society.
"4. In such circumstances, the committee declared that the solutions which the State should seek should give top priority to the interests of the children. All measures should therefore be constant with this purpose.
"5. The committee notes that according to the most recent census published by the National Statistics Office, in 2005 the vast majority of the Maltese had a stable marriage. The census showed that 60% of residents of Malta were married, 6% were widowed and 4% were separated or divorced.
"6. For these reasons, the committee declares that the political position of the Nationalist Party should remain in favour of the unity of the family and against the introduction of divorce because it feels that the introduction of divorce is not the best way to promote the value of the family since divorce changes the definition of marriage as being a permanent bond.
"7. The committee recognises that within the Nationalist Party there are contrasting views on the introduction of divorce but it believes that the debate now needs to be concluded while respecting the different opinions.
"8. The committee also notes that no political party in Malta has the electoral mandate to propose legislation for the introduction of divorce and, therefore, the parliamentary approval of a Bill for the introduction of divorce should not be enough for the law to come into force and this should be confirmed through a referendum.
The committee therefore recommends to the government that:
"a) Parliament should, as soon as possible, discuss the Bill for the introduction of divorce.
"b) Should the Bill be approved by a majority of the House, the coming into force of the law would be conditional to approval by referendum, held within two months of approval of the law by Parliament.
"c) The committee also recommends that the Prime Minister and leader of the party should allow a free vote to the Nationalist MPs so that they may vote according to their conscience in all stages of the passage of the bill."