Out in the cold

The predicament a number of Labour sympathisers find themselves in is unenviable. If they voted yes on Saturday, and a fair number of them must have done that, they have been left adrift without their traditional political base. The fact that the Labour leadership seems to have divorced itself from reality must be seriously worrying to them as it is to anyone who believes in plurality in the political arena.

True, they should be over the moon about the two important issues that were settled as a result this referendum.

The first is that a clear majority of the Maltese have chosen early membership of the EU. A difference of over 19,000 votes, or 7.2 per cent of votes cast, amounts to a landslide in a country where partisan politics only allows a difference of between half and two-thirds of that figure. The last two elections won with a 13,000 majority were both deemed great victories. And this is not a victory for one faction or another but one for all the people on the Maltese islands who want to work towards a secure future.

The second is that the people's awareness of their civic rights and responsibilities and their respect for the democratic process has grown. This surely explains why in defiance of the opposition leader's vituperative exhortations, echoed very softly by only some of the Labour MPs, the vast majority of the 91 per cent of the electorate chose to cast a vote with a clear message, irrespective of their political colour.

The result was 53.6 per cent in favour and 46.4 per cent against membership. Any other interpretation goes against the calculations made in any ordinary referendum process and any past referenda in Malta.

The outcome makes it clear that the yes voters were not purely PN card carriers. Indeed, we are all aware that a number of Nationalists voted against EU membership which means that quite a number of mainstream Labour sympathisers voted in favour, otherwise the sums simply would not add up. Only very few, among them the Labour leader himself setting a bad example, chose to ignore a call to what is a basic civic duty. Indeed, in some countries, notably Belgium, but also Australia, voting is compulsory.

It is this levity, this disrespectful disregard of an important democratic process that first cast a pall on this referendum. Alfred Sant's consequent refusal to recognise the unequivocal results of that process is just another instance of his total lack of respect for us all whatever our political stance.

Economy with the truth is a trait that has been attributed to many politicians throughout the world over as many centuries as politics in some shape or form has existed, yet it was carried to such a degree during the "partnership" campaign that to list the misrepresentations would take too long. Now that the official results are out and these too are being reworked to fit into the Sant scenario, the insult to the electorate is beyond any reasonable bounds.

The prevalent point is that a scenario for "partnership" instead of membership with the EU is not an option for Malta. This has been clearly stated by the EU itself so to persist in selling this line as an alternative to membership is dishonest to say the least. In a country with a more sophisticated electorate it would have been sheer political suicide. Sadly, too many Maltese are still too apt to forgive and forget, to go with the devil they know, to be loyal to the party line.

All political and democratic credibility has been eroded out of the Labour Party leadership. The very act of exhorting voters to relinquish their rights and duties in this referendum without calling an official boycott is already bad enough, but Dr Sant went on to show his contempt for the Maltese people and their referendum by refusing to vote with a smirk.

If he was so dead set against EU membership in 2004 why could he not make a cross in the no box as others with a more highly developed political consciousness were doing? One could say he contributed to the yes victory as it was perfectly clear to everyone before the referendum how the voting would be counted.

Surely he has disqualified his validity as a political leader. There is now no way, not only after the March 9 shenanigans, but also after his insinuations questioning the EU ambassador to Malta's honesty in clarifying points pertaining to EU membership that the Labour Party can negotiate anything at all with the EU.

Neither can the EU be comfortable completing the final steps to entry to the EU in May 2004 with a camp that has shown such hostility to the membership process. After all any dissidents within the Labour Party, and rumour has it that they exist, have not had the gall to challenge what must have appeared wrong to them too.

As a result the public, both locally and abroad, must view them as being in synch with the leadership. This can only lead to one logical conclusion.

If you voted yes with conviction during the referendum you cannot waste your general election vote on a Labour Party that is in a dead end even if you are traditionally Labour. You have been left with no choice but to vote for a party that will respect your yes vote and make you a fully-fledged citizen of the European Union. Otherwise the message you sent out loud and clear on March 8 will be silenced too.