PM regrets people still divided over EU

Malta was going through historic moments which should have united the people, the prime minister told university students yesterday.

"The decision to hold the referendum on Malta's EU membership was taken precisely to detach this important issue from political partisanship.

"But this did not materialise and we are now on the eve of the election and still asking whether the people want to consolidate the decision taken in the March referendum. This is a misfortune for our country," he said.

Dr Fenech Adami was participating in a discussion meeting with students after he visited Students House and met representatives of the University Students' Council (KSU).

James Scicluna, president of the KSU, said the council had approved a motion in favour of EU membership since studies showed that membership was in Malta's best interest.

"The KSU feels that the result of the March 8 referendum should be respected by all. Until that date we had thought that the will of the majority of voters would be respected, but we were wrong," he said.

Mr Scicluna said that therefore, Saturday's election was not just another election.

"The decision made in the March 8 referendum has to be confirmed through our vote in the election," he said when he welcomed the prime minister.

Dr Fenech Adami said that unfortunately, what happened after the referendum raised doubts as to whether it was true that democracy in Malta had been consolidated in a permanent way.

Dr Fenech Adami forecast that Saturday's election would confirm membership.

He said that he was also certain that by the time the next legislature was over, those who opposed membership would come on board and start saying that they also wanted to abide by membership.

One of the students asked Dr Fenech Adami for his reaction to statements from MLP exponents, such as "God forbid that Malta joins the EU" when students were so eager to see Malta as a member of the EU.

Dr Fenech Adami said the statement, particularly when uttered after the referendum, was an insult and reflected a lack of loyalty to the people.