All this hullabaloo about Independence Day... the facts are there... all you have to do is read the archives of the time. It was the Labour Party that came out with the slogan of Integration or Independence (they called it self-determination then, to soften the blow!).

Dom Mintoff went to Whitehall and negotiated the integration project and optimism was in the air.

Then the Church stepped in when they realised that their power would be heavily dependent on Whitehall's (Protestant) benevolence, once we became British citizens in the true sense of the word. So they came out against the Labour Party with all the heavy artillery that the Church could muster, like interdiction and mortal sins for breakfast!

Realising they had a hot potato on their hands (and a lot of lobbying behind the scenes by Archbishop Mikiel Gonzi... he was made a Sir by the Protestant Monarch for services rendered!) the Brits came to their senses and said that integration was unworkable.

Mr Mintoff was furious and in his haste he made the biggest mistake of his political career. He resigned to call an election for independence. And having taken on both the Nationalists and the Church he lost the election. So the Nationalists came to power knowing that they had to go one way or the other. So, what to do? Let's be patriotic now and go for independence (well, anything will do as long as it's called independence). So they concocted a deal in Whitehall plus a small sum of money and declared themselves "I salvatori della Patria" as they brought independence to Malta. Of course the British were still here, there and everywhere, nothing much changed.

And again it was left to Mr Mintoff to show them how it's done! When after 13 years he regained power (1971), he went to England and re-negotiated the Independence and a much improved financial deal than that of the previous Administration, but, above all, that by 1979 all British forces must leave forever this island nation.

And they did - not a single British uniform was to be seen after that date. True independence was achieved at last.