Divorce: The sounds of silence

Sooner or later, many believe some form of divorce legislation will have to be introduced in Malta.

However, the introduction of divorce ultimately has to be sanctioned by the state, and opinions given by some MPs show a hotchpotch of opinions, often mired in elusiveness.

Every e-mail sent to the 35 Nationalist MPs remained unanswered, until the secretary to the PN's Parliamentary Group, Mario Galea, said he was writing to The Times on behalf of his colleagues.

"The family was, and still is, the cornerstone of the Nationalist Party policies. Divorce implies that we change the family model upon which us Maltese have grounded our social and cultural structures," Mr Galea said.

"We do not believe it is wise to undertake such a radical change in the current scenario because the vast majority of Maltese understand marriage as a life-long commitment between husband and wife.

"We need to continue to commit our resources and energy so that the introduction of divorce would not be inevitable. Moreover, all society, including civil society and the Church, plays a key role in strengthening the family."

Mr Galea cited an article recently penned by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in The Times, which said that the family, and not the state, is where we develop most as human beings.

The Prime Minister had also said: "We shall steadfastly continue to uphold and maintain our traditional family values, yet we recognise that changing social trends may require different approaches. During 2007, we shall be looking ever more closely at how measures taken by the government may impact upon the family cohesion".

Opposition Leader Alfred Sant evaded the topic of divorce even if he was the only Maltese Prime Minister to set up a commission on the family, which had been interpreted by many as an initiative to lead to the introduction of divorce.

The first to provide a reply to the e-mails sent, Dr Sant said that "unfortunately" he was not aware that divorce was becoming a topic of debate.

The Labour leader said the country had other priorities and people were debating issues such as the cost of living, the shortage of suitable jobs and government inefficiencies, plus the "suspicious" revision in government statistics.

"I would be more than happy to reply to your questions on all or any of the above, and in the meantime please take this as a reply to the questionnaire you have sent me on divorce," Dr Sant said.

The opposition spokesman for foreign affairs, Leo Brincat recalled that it was a Labour government that had commissioned a study on family structures, from which it resulted that there was no groundswell support for divorce.

"Even though I have my personal views on divorce, we thus feel that such an issue should be left to public opinion to shape rather than leaving it to the politicians to promote."

Mr Brincat said it was entirely up to civil society to organise a good and organised campaign in favour of divorce if it is genuinely convinced of its necessity.

"Given the tepid reaction our study had generated I see no reason why we should take any lead on the matter. There are far more pressing socio-economic problems facing society in general that need to be addressed with more urgency by the political class."

The shadow minister for education, Carmelo Abela, said it was unfortunate that the former Labour government's report on the family was interpreted as an attempt to introduce divorce.

"This was used by the PN and most of its allies to attack the Labour Party. Politicians at one stage or another need to be involved since the decision lies within politicians who have a seat in Parliament," Mr Abela said.

He said he did not personally believe divorce should be introduced and sees it as no solution, adding though Malta has ended up in an awkward situation where the state recognises divorce acquired from abroad.

This in itself is an "injustice" among those who have the means and those who do not.

On the other hand, the Labour MP said he believes that as a member of Parliament, one must also think and legislate in order to give people the right of choice for the common good.

"In this sense, if some people think that divorce is a solution they would have the option. Finally, I don't think that by introducing divorce we would have a just state. It takes much more than this."

Labour MP Joseph Cuschieri said the introduction of divorce was not the solution to the large number of broken marriages Malta was experiencing each year.

Asked whether he personally believed divorce should be introduced, Mr Cuschieri replied: "No. I'm a member of the Roman Catholic Church".

The opposition spokesman for home affairs Gavin Gulia said there was little interest shown by civil society when the former Labour government had started a debate about the future of the family in 1997 and does not think the situation has really changed.

In his weekly column in the Labour weekly KullHadd, Dr Gulia claimed that those who were trying to stir debate on divorce were doing so to detract attention from the real issues.

He told The Times: "I find it quite confusing that this issue is being brought up in the year of the electoral campaign when your newspaper could have started the debate immediately after the last general election. Besides, it would be fairer to dedicate debate to bread and butter issues, matters that are of far more serious concern to the public at the moment.

"Leaving the debate to such a late stage in the legislature could be perceived as an attempt at futile alienation which the matter of divorce certainly does not deserve."

His colleague, Roderick Galdes, on the other hand, believes there should be debate at a political level in order to address the ever-evolving society.

"I personally don't believe (divorce) should be introduced, but if it turns out that way, then I shouldn't deny the Maltese people from fulfilling their wishes," Mr Galdes said.

Labour social affairs spokesman Karl Chircop said:

"While personally I have nothing against divorce, I believe that such arguments are best left in the hands of all civil society first. There will come a time when the government and the opposition will have to come to terms with such a subject."

However, the discussion and views on the matter will first have to mature, he said.