Just as in nature the motion and paths of stars are mathematically charted with precision, even as an insignificant degree of variation is allowed, so then is the certainty of a yes outcome equally predictable for the coming referendum on the vital issue of Malta's membership within the European Union (EU). In spite of determined opposition from Dr. Sant, the leader of Malta's labor party in opposition, and his alternate proposal favoring a special partnership with the EU in lieu of full membership, his vision finds no takers amongst Malta's population, including members of his own party. Dr. Sant's first choice of transforming Malta into a Switzerland in the Mediterranean was drowned in well deserved ridicule, as will also be the case with his equally shallow proposition for partnership.
For starters no European nation has stepped on to the plate and declared itself in favor of Dr. Sant's vision, notwithstanding his grandiose but ill founded dream of formalizing an a la carte trade arrangement, whereby Malta will be allowed to pick and choose from a full table, while others must settle for lesser morsels. The trouble is that because of its size and miniscule economy Malta has no clout with which to sweeten barters by making them look more attractive for foreign investors. Without benefit of conducting its import/export trade under protection of rigid EU protocols, few if any international corporations will gamble on opening a subsidiary branch within its shores.
There are other equally important factors to be taken into account. Malta is a land where every other adult appears entitled to a doctoral degree. While this condition says much for the high level of advanced education found there, it also raises serious concerns about the marketability of college graduates searching gainful employment within a limited local job market. The one solution to this endemic problem is for them to freely seek fame and fortune elsewhere within Europe, an industrial mammoth serving some 460 million consumers.
On matters of defense Malta sits squarely at the mercy of Europe, principally Britain and Italy, against the infringement of its sovereignty from its North African neighbors, a condition which makes a mockery of its neutrality declaration. Malta's territorial waters are subject to innumerable intrusion by Libya, and by the trade of illegal migrants from Africa on their northern passage to Europe. For all their glory Maltese patrol boats have had little or no impact on interdiction of this profitable traffic in human beings. The principal of charting an independent policy in foreign affairs is a myth, perpetuated by both political parties, not because it carries substance, but as a front to cover Malta's impotence in asserting its own safety and destiny. A union with the EU will bring a quick end to this growing problem.
There are other concerns to be sure. The first relates to Malta's survivability in a very competitive international market, where only the fittest survive. Given its culture as it relates to work ethics, attitudes towards product/service quality, its affinity for imposing tariffs and subsidies on imported goods as a way to protect mediocrity and shoddy local workmanship, it comes as no surprise to any but the most hardened apologists for Malta's laissez-faire workforce, that the imposition of high EU standards and practices will bring about long overdue beneficial changes which will distance it from its Arab past. If none else parastatal (reads better as parasitical) enterprises like the near defunct dockyard, with its propensity to bleed Malta's treasury dry, will cease to exist and thankfully fade forever into obscurity. Malta's expectation of generous monetary handouts from the EU, for which no return is offered, is yet another manifestation of a socialist mindset that borders on the irrational.
The biggest challenge to Malta's future is the dissolution of church and state. In an age of democracy this incestuous marriage should not be allowed to go unchallenged. While the EU will not tamper with this most unfortunate internal arrangement, its presence will without a doubt eventually put pressure to bear on the Maltese to rethink the system. By extension, the prospects of legalizing divorce will play a major role in streamlining Malta's antiquated laws governing family life. Considering the high level of men and women who have chosen co-habitation as an alternative lifestyle in preference over church sanctified unions, divorce will not cause much of a ripple with self assertive younger generations of Maltese.
On the political front the tripartite coalition between the ruling Nationalist Party, the Greens, and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, as well as with minor help from Dom Mintoff's new movement "Haddiema Maltin", will overwhelm opposition by the Malta Labor Party and its only ally the General Workers Union, in their losing fight to steer Malta towards independence, and in favor of a partnership with the EU. The number of cross voters from either side is not seen as being significant in altering the ultimate vote count favoring full EU membership. Scare tactics by Dr. Sant reminding voters of Malta's long and sordid history of foreign occupation, which he then contrasts with its recently acquired freedom that is being hijacked by an overpowering EU, is a David and Goliath act which will not play well with informed citizens.
That Malta is at a major crossroads in its history is undisputable. Now that it has been formally approved for EU membership, the last major act as to whether it will join mother Europe, or remain forever looking in on the outside, will be put to the test. It is a forgone conclusion that in a climate of hope for a better future, the Maltese will unite to overwhelmingly vote in favor of accession, not by a small margin but by a massive majority vote.
E-mail to Joseph Vella: vellajoseph@msn.net
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