Divorce would not disappear after Saturday’s referendum and if people voted against, the matter should continue being discussed, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
He said that if the yes camp triumphed, he expected Parliament to pass the law but if people voted against, he believed the issue should continue being discussed.
Speaking in an interview on One Radio, the party’s station, Dr Muscat said the will of the majority would have to be respected and he, therefore, expected the Divorce Bill to be withdrawn if people said no.
He insisted he would remain in favour of the introduction of divorce even if he was the last man standing. He would be voting yes to be on the “right side of history”. However, he said, he would vote against divorce if somebody could convince him that not introducing divorce would benefit children or that there would not be any more marriage break-ups.
Dr Muscat said Malta was witnessing two marriage break-ups a day and those who were opposing divorce were not proposing any viable solution to this situation and neither were they proposing an alternative. Divorce, he said, would not hurt children any more than separations or annulments. Divorce would offer the possibility of remarriage, which meant children would grow up within a family and not out of wedlock, he said.
Cohabitation meant no rights and duties, whereas remarriage would ensure that duties and responsibilities were safeguarded.
Asked whether he believed the Church was right to speak out, Dr Muscat replied in the affirmative, adding it had the “right and duty” to speak out.
He questioned why Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and the Nationalist Party had come out against the introduction of divorce, saying the issue had now been politicised.
Dr Gonzi, he said, had imposed his personal values on the party but he was now hiding and refusing to give interviews to defend his position on the matter.
“Had the PN not decided to adopt a position on divorce, like the Labour Party did, Malta could have had a situation where the people were free to decide without politicians’ pressure and according to their conscience. The fact that the PN had taken a stand meant some people felt they should toe the party line. The PL position is that people should vote according to their conscience,” he said.
On his personal stance in favour of divorce, Dr Muscat said he was proud of his stand but would not impose it on others.
He said he agreed with those who said marriages were still strong in Malta. Therefore, one should have nothing to fear from divorce, he said.
During the interview, Dr Muscat harshly criticised Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, saying he was committing “political suicide” with one bad decision after another. Mr Fenech was “an incompetent minister,” Dr Muscat said.