A 60th independence celebration is not like an individual’s 60th birthday. It is like a wedding anniversary that celebrates the marriage of a nation to its state. Under colonial rule, they led separate lives. At independence they became one, a nation-state, committed to a common destiny.
Independence is not like a birth, lying purely in the past. It is like marriage vows that need to be periodically renewed. The implicit vows that Malta’s nation and state made at independence were of social solidarity, political trust and democracy. Today’s anniversary is an occasion to reflect on and renew those vows of love for country.
Independence was the essential step without which no other constitutional transformation was possible. Its radical nature was recognised by everyone, not least the doubters.
Some feared the worst because they doubted a successful transition to a post-fortress economy was possible. But it did take place. By the end of the 1960s the country registered a boom. Since then, the country’s GDP has grown exponentially.
The darker years of our post-Independence period are making a comeback. In remembering those years, let us not forget that we successfully navigated our way out
Then there was the fragility of political trust. Among those who aspired for Malta’s independence were those who believed it was premature. They doubted Malta’s democracy could survive a turn to authoritarianism.
For a long time, for a period stretching from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, these doubters had reason to feel vindicated. The country slid into authoritarian rule and political violence. In those years this media house paid a high price when its building was burned down.
But the slide was limited in comparison with other post-independence states. Eventually, the page was turned – thanks to political statesmanship and the majority of ordinary voters who put the common good first.
Others have doubted whether September 21, 1964, really marked independence from colonial rule. It is an argument easily put out of its misery. Look at Malta’s first initiatives at the UN.
Malta’s proposal for a new law of the sea suggested a shared stewardship over the oceans and their resources. It was a proposal met with deep suspicion and hostility by the great powers that hoped to colonise those resources for themselves. Other proposals were concerned with the equitable development of the global South. Malta offered a perspective clearly independent of neo-colonial interests.
Over the decades, Maltese independence has, in practice, waxed and waned. It has thrived in tandem with Malta’s sense of international purpose.
Insularity has tended to coincide with the weakening of our democracy, social solidarity and trust. International statesmanship has been good for our domestic freedoms and prosperity.
Unfortunately, today the marriage between nation and state is going through a rough patch. Statesmanship and vision are lacking. Trust in the authorities is low. Social solidarity is fraying. Hardly a week goes by without allegations that key Maltese institutions have been captured by opaque, undemocratic forces. There is a widespread sense of betrayal.
This low point, however, still offers reasons for hope. The sense of malaise is itself a sign that we recognise that something is seriously wrong – a marked improvement over the complacency of the recent past.
Next, there is the idea that the darker years of our post-Independence period are making a comeback. In remembering those years, let us not forget that we successfully navigated our way out.
We managed because we did not simply wait for our leaders to rise to the occasion and renew their vows of loyalty to the nation-state. It could not have happened if ordinary people had not renewed their commitment to democracy, social solidarity and political trust.
It is time for everyone to reflect on how to renew our daily commitment to independence. Let reflection lead to action.