The controversy generated by the Individual Investor Programme (IIP) had one particularly unsavoury aspect to it: this was the way the Nationalist Party in Opposition used this political controversy to try and gain political mileage through blackening the Labour government’s image overseas.
This, in my opinion, was a condemnable tactic and I hope that we shall be seeing the end of such politics, a remnant of the confrontational politics of the 1970s and 1980s.
One would have to be a complete simpleton to believe that the extensive coverage given to the IIP in the foreign media was just the result of the importance of the Maltese government’s scheme or that so much coverage was the result of it being controversial.
The real reason, of course, was that the PN chose to oppose the scheme for partisan political reasons and did not refrain from damaging our country’s image abroad to try and achieve its ends.
Frankly, I am very disappointed because I had been led to believe that such things belonged only to the past and that the PN had buried such unsavoury practices.
Whenever we do not agree on something, I feel that it is the duty of all politicians to try and keep the issue localised and not to involve other countries or international institutions in it.
We can argue as much as we like among ourselves but we have to ensure that no lasting damage is done to our country’s reputation.
The way the PN media gloated over negative reports about our country pertaining to the IIP scheme, and the way the PN Members of the European Parliament used the structures of the European Union to attack their own Maltese government was a disgrace and something shameful to behold.
The IIP as introduced by the Labour government was not perfect and the whole issue could have been tackled better but the debate could also have been conducted between ourselves and with the aim of putting the national interest first and foremost. Surely, the PN’s damaging of our country’s reputation abroad does not fit into this equation.
One is reminded of Carl Schurz’s immortal words: “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”
If one feels that the government is in the wrong, then one should work to put things right but without damaging the country’s international reputation
In other words, one should always defend the reputation of one’s country. If one feels that the government of one’s country is right in following a particular course of action, then one should support it to the utmost. If one feels that the country’s government is in the wrong over a particular issue, then one should work to put things right but without damaging the country’s international reputation when doing so.
Malta is a small country. We are not one of the major powers in Europe and so, selling a positive image of our country and its government is a prerequisite for all our international dealings.
How can we attract foreign investment if our country’s reputation is damaged?
How can we generate faith in our government’s integrity and seriousness if we strive to ridicule the schemes it introduces in the best interests of our country?
How can we be taken seriously on an international level when the Nationalist Party’s MEPsuse the structures of the EU to try and derail the Maltese government’s initiatives?
It seems that the Nationalist Party has still not learned its lesson after its colossal defeat at the polls last year.
The Nationalist leader, Simon Busuttil, should remember that negative politics is shunned by the majority of the Maltese today, especially anything that can lead to regression in the country’s situation.
One hopes that cooperation between the two major political parties will be the order of the day during the remainder of this legislature.
Remember what happened in the 1970s and 1980s. I would be the first to admit that the Labour governments of those days made a lot of mistakes for which they were justly criticised.
However, the Nationalist Party at the time severely damaged the reputation of Malta overseas and it took many years to rebuild a positive image of our country.
One of the myths still circulating today is that it was Dom Mintoff’s policies and actions that damaged our country’s international reputation. The reality is rather different. Mintoff had his defects and committed some serious mistakes too but it was, above all, the PN’s international campaign aimed at bringing down the Labour governments which severely damaged our country’s future.
The problem with criticising one’s government abroad is that the damage caused cannot be undone quickly. It is very easy to destroy, it is very difficult to rebuild.
I sincerely hope that we have all learned the lessons of the past in such a way that we shall always put the national interest first and partisan political interests a remote second.