Lawrence Gonzi's appeal to declare Independence Day as Malta's sole National Day has received a cool reception from Labour leader Joseph Muscat, who insisted the debate should not be turned into a political football that "crops up at certain periods".
While agreeing with the idea of having one National Day, Dr Muscat said the decision should be taken after a "free and open, non-partisan debate, which unites citizens".
He played down the whole debate insisting that, at a time when Maltese families were struggling to make ends meet, concerned with unfulfilled promises and high bills, all efforts should be focused on improving their standard of living.
On the opening night of the Nationalist Party's independence celebrations in Floriana on Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated his appeal for consensus on one National Day, which he said should be Independence Day.
"Everything was born from independence," Dr Gonzi said, urging for a sense of maturity to give the people "a present" on the 50th anniversary of independence in five years' time.
Dr Gonzi's appeal came almost a week after a Labour Party exponent suggested that Independence Day be the "sole" National Day.
The former head of the PL's Fondazzjoni Mikiel Anton Vassalli, Desmond Zammit Marmarà ins-isted that choosing Independence as the national holiday was "the most rational choice". In an article on The Times, he said Independence was a "national achievement" and the "foundation stone" for later achievements.
PL general secretary Jason Micallef said when contacted for his reaction that Mr Zammit Marmarà had every right to express his personal opinion on which occasion should be the country's sole National Day.
"As always, the PL welcomes diverse opinions within the party, including that on our National Day," Mr Micallef said, insisting the comments be taken in their entirety.
As expected, PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier welcomed the suggestion.
"The PN agrees with the spirit of the article penned by Mr Zammit Marmarà in the sense that Independence Day should be the National Day for Malta," he said, pointing out this was a reaction to what his party had been saying for a long time.
He recalled the letter the Prime Minister had written to Dr Muscat last year proposing there should be one national holiday. "Unfortunately, no answer was given to the Prime Minister," Dr Borg Olivier said.
In the PN's last general council last March, Dr Gonzi rekindled the debate and suggested Independence Day be the sole National Day because it was the event out of which all events celebrated in the country's recent history were born.
In a Talking Point in The Times last week, Mr Zammit Marmarà said it was a "myth" that independence was mainly the achievement of the PN. While acknowledging the unstinting effort by then Nationalist Prime Minister George Borg Olivier, Mr Zammit Marmarà said the PL's lukewarm reception of independence in 1964 was a question of getting the best for the Maltese people in the circumstances prevailing in those times.
"Labour was protesting because it wanted to obtain more freedom and more rights for all the Maltese nation through independence and not because the PL was against obtaining independence in 1964," he said.
Ironically, two days later, writing in his blog on timesofmalta.com, Nationalist member of Parliament Charlo Bonnici suggested September 8, Victory Day, be declared the sole National Day.
Although rooting for Independence Day, Mr Bonnici said he believed that past events "jeopardised" this possibility because most Labourites could never view it as a significant day in the country's history.
Similarly, he said, Freedom Day was viewed by Nationalist supporters simply as an opportunity for Dom Mintoff to tie his name to some historical landmark prior to retiring from active politics.
"That is why I think Victory Day is a second-best option. We cannot opt for a National Day that does not unite the country. Historically, Victory Day marks two important victories for our nation: the victory over the Turks and our island's perseverance in the face of the continuous bombardment by the axis forces in World War II," Mr Bonnici said, adding that it also marked the birth of Mary mother of Jesus.
Malta may not be the only country in the world to have more than one National Day but it stands head and shoulders above the rest with a record five.