Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The Nazis had a system of posting and sending people to countries they intended to take over to incite, sow disturbance and create political instability. These tactics are well recorded.

In my view these same tactics were being adopted by our three European Parliament representatives, David Casa, Roberta Metsola and Francis Zammit Dimech, prior and during the supposedly intelligent and urgent European debate on Malta.

Not only had these three poisoned the minds of other EP delegates but their words were repeatedly said by their zealot political compatriots. In numerous instances these went even further, stating that Malta is a Mafia State, where no rule of law exists, compared to Mexican cartels.

To add insult to injury, Malta was also attacked as a tax haven, a contraband paradise without the rule of law. One of them was the chairman of the investigative board on the Panama Papers. He came out as the most biased of all, when he should be impartial (or at least appear to be).

Instead, he personally attacked the Prime Minister and asked for his removal. He also mentioned two persons who had not appeared before the board. One thing he left out was if these per-sons were within their rights and had a choice to appear or refuse to. He failed to mention even this valid point.

Now where have I heard this before and from where?

As I see it, the debate was a farce, intended only to harm Malta and its institutions. It almost compared us to the worst countries in the world.

But do people living in Malta, locals, foreigners or guests, actually believe this? Is life in Malta as it is being pictured by the European conservative group in Brussels?

Every time that in Malta the people elect a socialist government, after the shock of defeat begins to recede, the Opposition starts instigating others against the government. This had happened in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and now at the present time.

This when new legislations are being continuously tabled in Parliament for improvements to the administrative and juridical systems. Systems which our country had from the initial Constitution of 1964 under a conservative government and the new Constitution approved in the early 1970s under a Labour government.

How can a Maltese representative of our country show so much hatred and jealousy against our government?

Since then, it was under this present government that more basic restructuring has passed in parliament that is beneficial to our basic rule of law. So why this hate for the present administration and all the harm that will not only damage our islands now but also in the future?

Take for example what the delegates in Brussels quoted: tax evasion, offshore companies (when we have none), passport issues where only Malta was mentioned, money laundering, the Mafia State, the removal of our Prime Minister, no rule of law, the judicial system, the police force, comparisons to drug cartels, and the political killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia – and what else?

Another aspect that emerged was that it appeared that only one journalist existed in Malta, Daphne Caruana Galizia. All the other past and present journalists, who told the truth or did investigative work, do not matter. Till now no journalist has presented his view on this subject and what was quoted by delegates in Brussels.

All these theories bring to mind the Bible teachings. Adam and Eve had all the fruit of the world, except one. What did they do? They went for the fruit that they couldn’t have. This shows that the human character wants the thing it does not have.

It is also in line with the Opposition’s view of things. They want to govern even when people decide to the contrary. 

The second story is that of Cain and Abel. Cain’s jealousy took him as far as to kill his brother Abel out of jealousy.

These two points in my view illustrate the actual Maltese political situation. Wanting what one cannot have and killing out of jealousy.

If not so, how can a Maltese representative of our country show so much hatred and jealousy against our government and at the same time also against our past and present institutions?  This with an angelic innocent face (not that of Casa) saying they are doing this on our behalf? What goes up must come down. The innuendoes they made and also put on their companions’ agenda will in the future come back to haunt them.

As I wrote in a previous article, Caruana Galizia was not killed because of political articles she wrote. She had been writing them for ages and nothing happened. I do believe that she was killed for articles on crime she had written and was indicating that she had more information to say on criminal activities.

These strong indications of a criminal aspect were never once mentioned in all the delegates’ interventions. Why? Why is it that all, like puppets on a string, saw the murder to be political?

I always stand and act proud of my country wherever I go. I thank God whenever I return to my country which is the safest place on earth. A country that is second to none both in its living standards, social aspects, wealth generated by investments, best of health services, and so on. A country where one can leave children running around freely with no fear of kidnappings and murders.

The image that was given in Brussels by the conservative representatives was that Malta was an anarchy state. At least one speaker said that Europe was being “strong” with the small and “weak” with the big. How right he was.

The last two speakers, Frans Timmermans and the representative of the country that now is holding the EU presidency, were very fair in their comments and chided the previous speakers on their political comments and views:

That other countries had also approved citizenship schemes and not only Malta; that speakers had gone beyond objectivity when condemning Malta; and that it was a political killing without taking any other considerations into account. They appealed to the assembly to let the investigative forces do their job.

I appeal, let us Maltese stand together and not let others take advantage of our political weakness to their own advantage. Let us all be Maltese, proud of our nation, proud of the huge advancements we have achieved together in bettering our lives and social aspects. Let us all stand tall and shout out that for us Malta and Gozo come first and foremost. 

Lino Debono is a former Labour MP.

Roberta Metsola reacts

MEP Roberta Metsola reacted to the above opinion piece with the tweet (below) this morning.