Without a shadow of a doubt, Independence ranks as the most important event in Maltese history. As 1964 becomes more and more distant and with the benefit of hindsight, we can today seek to interpret this unique historical event in a much more objective manner than in the near past.
This is where the greatness of George Borg Olivier becomes immediately apparent- Desmond Zammit Marmarà
When independence was achieved on September 21, 1964, the small political parties of those days were against it. Furthermore, there were many people who thought at the time that Malta could not survive alone.
This is where the greatness of George Borg Olivier becomes immediately apparent. Despite the fact that a good number of Maltese did not believe in the success of independence for Malta, he believed in it and went on working against all odds to realise his dream. Borg Olivier has been criticised for the type of independence he negotiated with the British. In Dom Mintoff’s days, the term “Indipendenza farsa” (“a farcical type of independence”) was regularly heard during political debates.
While I am strongly of the opinion that Mintoff was a better negotiator than Borg Olivier, as manifested by the results he obtained in 1972, I think that criticism of the 1964 Independence as being “farcical” is today outdated and can be brushed aside.
The crux of the argument is that, given the international situation as it was in the days of the Cold War in 1964, it was obvious that the British would only grant independence to Malta subject to certain conditions. Since the British would retain their military base in Malta, this would mean they needed to retain control over key areas of the administration of Malta to be able to react swiftly in case of an emergency.
As such, independence in 1964 had nothing farcical about it at all. Pragmatism was the order of the day.
Independence made it possible for Malta to become a Republic in 1974 and rendered possible the closure of the British military base in 1979. Borg Olivier should be credited with paving the way, in the 1960s, for Mintoff to achieve what he did in the 1970s.
This brings me to an interesting question: “What credit should be given to Mintoff and the Labour Party in Malta’s struggle for independence?”
There is nothing more nonsensical than the argument that credit for independence should be given to Borg Olivier and the Nationalist Party alone.
Proponents of this view usually come up with the argument that in the 1950s, Mintoff and the Labour Party first went for integration with Great Britain and only when this failed did Labour go for independence or, rather, “self-determination” as it was then called.
This is true but, again, one must examine what the situation in Malta in the 1950s. The standard of living of many Maltese was rather low compared to that in Great Britain.
A national leader wishes the best for his people and Mintoff knew that in the circumstances prevailing at the time, integration was the best option available to the Maltese people to better their standard of living.
Mintoff and the Labour Party were, among other things, seeking the attainment within a timeframe of 10 years of social services comparable to those in Great Britain, including health and education, as well as equivalent wages and salaries for government and imperial workers.
The British Government clashed with the Maltese Government over the interpretation of what “equivalence” really meant and many other issues arose which eventually torpedoed the Integration proposal.
Now Mintoff and the Labour Party went all out for independence. After all, the Labour Party was elected in 1955 on the basis of the slogan ‘Integration or Self- Determination’.
From 1958 to 1964, the history of the Labour Party in Malta is dominated by the struggle for independence. It started with the 1958 riots, reached its apex in 1964 and concluded in the period 1974-79. Mintoff was such a great leader that he was not content with what was obtained by Borg Olivier in 1964, being especially against retaining the British Queen as Head of State. He did not rest until he saw Malta turned into a Republic with a Maltese President as Head of State and the British military base closed.
During the Independence celebrations, Mintoff could legitimately have hugged the limelight next to Borg Olivier since the former was the Leader of the Opposition and Labour had included independence in its 1962 General Election Manifesto.
Instead, Mintoff entered Valletta to protest and was dragged in the dust during a police cavalry charge. Of such mettle are great leaders made!
To conclude, independence has to be viewed as a national achievement. It is a day of celebration of what all the Maltese, working together, achieved over a long period of time.