Seven years on, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi reminisced about Malta’s EU accession at the Aula Magna in Valletta. Kurt Sansone listened to his speech.
The last seven years were characterised by “massive change” that brought about the end of ideology, Dr Gonzi said, taking a leaf out of the classic postmodern analysis by an American political scientist.
In the early 1990s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama spoke about the end of ideology in a book titled The End Of History And The Last Man.
Ironically, in his conclusion, Mr Fukuyama had noted the difficulty politicians would face in the postmodern era when the change they had worked for allowed people to determine their own values. In many ways it is the same difficulty the Nationalist Party faces today in front of the people’s decision to approve a divorce Bill through a referendum.
Despite this, Dr Gonzi chose to focus on the economic implications of change during a debate organised by the Malta-EU Steering Committee last week to mark seven years from the island’s EU membership.
“The last seven years brought about massive change and, in some instances, coalitions had to be formed because people voted the way they did. Ideologies finished and the major parties came closer to each other converging on the need for a social market economy,” Dr Gonzi said.
The divorce debate did not feature in his speech except for a tongue-in-cheek comment when talking about migration. “For better or for worse we are at the centre of migratory flows. It is like marriage, although I am having my doubts now,” he said while smiling and admitting it was better for him to bite his tongue.
Dr Gonzi went on to say he expected the EU to assist Malta deal with migration, adding there was no question about Malta’s resolve to save lives at sea.
Reminiscing on the occasion seven years ago when Malta officially became an EU member state, Dr Gonzi said the event also marked his seventh year as Prime Minister.
Departing from a prepared speech, he noted that from the heads of government present in Greece in April 2004 it was only him and two others who were still in power.
The digression over, Dr Gonzi then referred to the EU funds invested in the regeneration of Cospicua’s Dock One and the sewage treatment plant in Xgħajra, insisting these were prime examples of Malta’s successful membership in the bloc.
“I can stop here,” he said, “but we must not take things for granted.”
For the second time in a week, Dr Gonzi defended his government’s policy to remove energy subsidies and instead invest the money into productive activities. “I hope the mentality of useless subsidies has finished and has been replaced with a mentality in favour of subsidies and solidarity where they are needed.”
To the largely Maltese audience and some ambassadors present for the debate, Dr Gonzi painted a picture of “a normal and lovely” country where the quality of life was relatively good. “If this were not a lovely, attractive and safe country we would not have a record number of tourists visiting us,” he said.
Dr Gonzi said the country’s finances were on the right track and the economy was performing well because of an efficient and well-trained workforce.