The national pride

I sometimes wonder what some of the great Nationalist Party leaders and patriots of the past would have thought about the present PN leadership's approach to European Union membership for Malta.

Fortunato Mizzi dedicated his life to fighting colonial oppression. Sir Ugo P. Mifsud died of a stroke after a speech in the Legislative Assembly during which he tried to save several Maltese from being deported by the British. Enrico Mizzi was deported to Uganda by the colonial administration.

The Nationalist Party and all the pro-EU membership lobby are excluding one vital point from the debate about European Union partnership or membership: our national pride.

The whole argument about EU partnership or membership must not be based on crude utilitarian issues only, i.e. the advantages and disadvantages of partnership or membership. The EU debate is a matter of national importance, therefore our national pride has to be taken into consideration.

That is why Alfred Sant knows what he is saying and doing. The PN media continually criticise him for standing up to EU officials and foreign politicians who visit our island and make statements about the European Union partnership or membership debate.

Much is made of the fact that some of these officials and politicians criticise the Malta Labour Party's position on Malta's future relationship with the European Union. Unfortunately for them, they miss a vital point: the reason why Alfred Sant enjoys so much respect both in Malta and abroad is precisely because he deals with these foreigners on an equal basis.

Alfred Sant, in the best traditions of MLP leadership, is not afraid to stand up to foreigners and tell them to their faces that they are mistaken in their views.

He is not interested in what other countries do, he is only interested in what is in the best interests of Malta. He wants to keep the destiny of Malta solely in the hands of the Maltese, "rajna f'idejna".

The pro-EU membership lobby, especially the Nationalist Party media, use various arguments that are damaging to our national pride. One of these is their continual insistence on the funds that Malta will acquire if it joins the European Union. So are we expected to sacrifice so many things, dear to our hearts, such as our sovereignty, for money?

Marisa Micallef Leyson (June 3) had this to say about this argument : "Joining the EU is not about letting foreigners solve our problems. But it is about allowing some help in. The help can be in the form of expertise. The help can be in the form of hard cash. The help can be in the form of us not having to reinvent the wheel, which means adopting tried and tested standards. Most important of all perhaps is money. In a country with a deficit, in a country where we all avoid taxes if we can, does refusing money make any sense? This simple argument should be at the heart of a simple propaganda war from the PN". This is nothing less than basing a country's foreign policy on a beggar's philosophy! No Malta Labour Party exponent has made any such statements which really hurt our national pride.

People like Ms Micallef Leyson are also now openly denigrating the countries of North Africa. "This country is itself on a losing and loser's track... a fast track to sharing the same glorious fate as our neighbours in North Africa. That in a nutshell is Dr Sant's dream for us. Switzerland in the Med. has been shelved. The promise is now of North Africa in the Med.

Let me remind readers that while it is true that the countries of North Africa may not be as rich as some of the big countries of the European Union, they retain their national identity, their sovereignty and their independence. Furthermore, in the case of Malta, because of the Nationalist Party's EU-centrism, trade opportunities with our North African neighbours have never been fully exploited.

Above all, however, it is a compliment to compare our country to the proud independent nation states of North Africa. This is infinitely preferable to being a rich colony of Brussels!

The crux of the argument is that Malta's problems will only be solved through competent government, irrespective of European Union partnership or membership.

To say that we cannot move on alone, that to survive we need to tie our future to a more powerful supranational entity is simply giving up.

The Nationalist government is so incompetent that it has long given up hope of solving the country's problems without outside help.

The Malta Labour Party has a competent team ready to take over the administration of this country and solving its problems without denting our national pride, without calling in outside help.

We need a national leader who will be able to negotiate with the foreigner on equal terms because we Maltese are inferior to none!

Alfred Sant is this country's only hope.