The United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union has created political uncertainty few had dared predict. The uncertainty is palpable, especially in the UK, where the political landscape has been dramatically altered, with the prime movers – David Cameron, Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson – all abandoning ship and leaving it to others to pick up the pieces. The Labour Party too is in a leadership crisis.
But worst of all is that it is now clear as daylight that none of those who led the Leave campaign had any idea whatsoever what should happen next. There was no roadmap for what Britain’s new deal with the EU should look like. Hence the confusion.
Alas, uncertainty is not limited to Britain. It has hit the entire EU, which needs to do some serious soul-searching on why the European project was rejected by the British after 43 years of marriage.
True, the reason is mostly down to the UK itself, where decades of myths, lies and scaremongering on anything EU, pedalled by politicians and tabloids in equal measure, were impossible to overcome in a few months of campaigning ahead of the ill-fated referendum.
No doubt, Brexit was the result of populism about which we know a thing or two even in Malta. We have a Prime Minister who viscerally and illogically opposed EU membership but then went straight for a seat in the European Parliament. Much like Farage himself.
And despite having declared himself a convert, he still plays up public sentiment against the EU whenever it suits him to do so. He describes himself as a euro-realist, which is the same tag Brexiters used for themselves. And look where their euro-realism got Britain.
Thankfully, the Maltese electorate had seen through anti-EU arguments and took the right decision. As a result, we have joined and benefitted enormously, and there is no doubt that our national interest is best served by being part of the EU.
I, for one, am a convinced European because membership has served our country well. And it is clear in my mind that it is in our national interest to be part of a Union that is strong and united because we stand to gain from it. As we have.
No doubt Brexit was the result of populism about which we know a thing or two even in Malta
Conversely, sniping at the European Union, or weakening it in public perception, as our own Prime Minister often does, does not serve our national interest. In fact, it undermines it.
Joseph Muscat reacted to Brexit by accusing the EU of being ‘elitist’. Elitist? But I know of only one elite in Europe, which has been caught red-handed with secret companies in Panama and got away with it. And that elite was created by Muscat in Malta.
That said, there is no question that the EU has had its fair share of failures and it would be folly not to address them.
For instance, it has manifestly failed to address serious concerns expressed by Europeans on matters that are important to them, such as unbridled immigration.
For far too long, Europe proved helpless and ineffective on immigration. The EU’s external border seemed open to endless streams of people without control. Greece’s border with Turkey was considered as a Greek problem whereas Malta and Italy’s vast maritime borders were seen as their problem too. It had to take one million people to flood into Germany for EU governments to finally realise that they must get their act together and move to establish European Border Guards and Coastguards to help secure our external borders.
Sadly, for the UK, it is too late. But for us and for others, it is not, if only the EU reconnects with its citizens.
There is an opportunity for us in this calamity as our country prepares to take on the EU presidency in January for six months.
We have an opportunity to shine if we get it right. We can show that we are a reliable partner that can be trusted to kick-start talks on a mutually beneficial exit strategy for Britain.
This requires a government that truly sees Europe as a matter of national interest and one that behaves in a manner that does not undermine our country’s reputation and credibility. That is why our government’s behaviour on good governance matters so much. Because our credibility and reputation are at stake.
This is why, on behalf of the Nationalist Party, I offered our full cooperation and put our EU expertise and experience at the service of the government. Our gesture is dictated by our commitment to the national interest.
We owe it to our country to be united on Europe.
Simon Busuttil is leader of the Nationalist Party.