Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said today that now that the referendum was past, the efforts of the Nationalist Party should be to ensure that the liberal and conservative elements within it continue working together.
Writing in The Times, he said that the process of implementing the will of the people as expressed in last Saturday's referendum should in itself provide an opportunity for this healing process to take place.
Dr de Marco said the PN and its followers need to take stock of the referendum experience.
"The strength of the PN lies in the spectrum of opinions it represents. We build our policies, faithful to our Christian Democratic principles but in a manner that respects both the liberal and conservative elements of our party. We are a party with a heart in the right place but a centre left way of doing things.
"This coalition approach returned a majority support for the PN in six out of the past seven general elections. It also delivered the Yes vote in the European Union membership referendum. More importantly, it has enabled the PN in government to transform this country from a cocooned, inefficient state with questionable democratic credentials to a vibrant, pluralistic and open society that can hold its own among the states of Europe.
"The divorce debate tested this coalition approach. It posed a difficult terrain for the PN because it provided no common ground for liberals and conservatives to meet upon.
"Faced with this challenge, the party took a stand on the issue but allowed its members to express themselves independently of the party’s position. Some questioned this stance arguing that, by taking such a stand, the party was conditioning the views of its exponents.
"The referendum result shows there was strong cross-party voting on this issue, which could be interpreted as justifying the position of those who felt that political parties should have stayed aloof of this debate. It was not an easy situation to resolve.
"With the referendum behind us, our efforts as a party should be to ensure that the liberal and conservative elements within our party continue working together. The process of implementing the will of the people as expressed in last Saturday’s referendum should in itself provide an opportunity for this healing process to take place.
"Beyond that, we have a mandate to lead this country for the next two years. We have a responsibility to look ahead, as we are doing, and projecting Malta into the future. This we can only do if we build on the critical success factor: our wide-base support.
"The different voices of this PN, not unlike a choir, might have different pitches, might be singing different notes but, ultimately, have the same goal.
timesofmalta.com reported yesterday that the PN parliamentary group is divided into three parts.
A significant number of MPs want to vote 'yes' in parliament in order to respect the people's decision as expressed in the referendum. Some want to abstain while others want to vote against because they are against divorce in principle.
The biggest argument within the group is that Nationalist MPs should not vote in favour when the party executive had taken a formal decision against the introduction of divorce. Minister Austin Gatt and MPs Beppe Fenech Adami, Edwin Vassallo and Charlo Bonnici are among those taking that position, arguing that at best, Nationalist MPs should abstain.
The prime minister had already declared that the Bill will not be obstructed in parliament and the will of the majority will be respected.
Several MPs have a dilemma about respecting the will of the majority and not going against the party decision.
MPs who come early in the alphabetical roll call in parliament are seeking a unified decision.
Dr de Marco's opinion piece in full can be seen at
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110601/opinion/Reconciling-post-divorce.368343