Get ready folks. We're in election mode

The signs are all there for those who have eyes to see. The unveiling of new projects and the bumped up publicity for anything that will remotely make this administration look good.

These are just some of the telltale indicators that the Nationalist Party has gone into election mode. Once the enormous shock of having lost the referendum wore off (for make no mistake, the huge blow to the No campaign was felt most by the men in suits housed in the glass building in Herbert Ganado Street), it was time to start the damage limitation exercise. Unfortunately, each attempt at saving face has misfired. To date, the PN simply continues to stumble from one PR gaffe to the other.

First, journalists were scolded by the Prime Minister for “putting pressure” on Members of Parliament about their voting intentions on the Divorce Bill. ‘Conscience’ has become the new buzzword, and our fragile MPs all seem to be paralysed with indecision because of it. That’s good to know because we’re all going to enjoy reminding them about their delicate conscience each time they slap a new tax on us.

Then former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami re-emerged to lecture us on why he is against divorce and why he has decided it’s morally wrong for society. Excuse me? Shouldn’t he be on some long Alaskan cruise or something, sipping from a mug of hot chocolate and enjoying his retirement with his wife Mary? Surely someone who was in public life for so long should now be dedicating some much needed quality time to his family, seeing that family values are so important to him.

The cherry on the cake, however, came a few days ago. Frank Psaila, the party’s information director told us that by the 1980s, thanks to Eddie Fenech Adami, the PN had succeeded in “radically shedding its much perceived confessional image and embarking on a fast- paced reform towards a social liberal agenda embedded in Christian democrat thinking”.

Social liberals hmm? That’s an interesting turn of phrase. I must have blinked when all this shedding of the confessional image was taking place because I’m sure I missed it. He ended his article with the following gem to which I’ve added my own observations: “The PN is synonymous with liberty (except when it comes to divorce), free choice (except when it comes to divorce), respect for human dignity (except for those who are separated) and, above all, solidarity (except with those who are separated). A healthier social liberal agenda (except when it comes to divorce) benefits the party (because it needs to be re-elected) but above all the country (because it needs to remain under our control). The PN needs to win back the trust (because it has lost it) of many social liberal voters (except those who voted for divorce) and it needs to do so now (because the PN has to win, because it always wins).

Divorce: Dirty tricks in divorce debate « Arnold Cassola

Arnold Cassola

Much has been written for or against the introduction of divorce legislation in Malta and all possible arguments for or against have been thrashed out ad nauseam. My position on the issue is crystal clear: together with Alternattiva Demokratika, I have campaigned for the introduction of this basic civil right in our country since 1989 (not since the day before yesterday!) and, therefore, my vote will be a convinced yes. What has, however, hit me in the course of this campaign is the depressing, sometimes sickening, level to which the debate has fallen, bringing out in the open the worst of dirty tricks.

In fact, the separation of the secular from the religious, which is the hallmark of any modern democracy, has been totally thrown to the dogs in the past weeks. I am not referring to the participation of the Catholic Church representatives in the debate. I believe that, as Maltese citizens, they have every right to voice their ideas. What irk me are the religious arguments brought up by political leaders who are, supposedly, the elected representatives of a lay state.

President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami, a former Prime Minister, started it all off when he declared that the introduction of divorce in Malta would go against the teachings of Jesus Christ. I certainly cannot enter into the merits of Jesus Christ’s teachings but it is definitely not the job of a politician, a former Prime Minister and President Emeritus, to propagate the teachings of Christ.

MP Beppe Fenech Adami latched on to a ridiculous argumentation first brought up by the chairman of the anti-divorce movement, Andrè Camilleri, who insisted on the fact that a divorced wife-batterer would be free to remarry and, thus, continue practising his “battering” stints on his second wife. This line of reasoning makes up point number one of the Catholic Church’s 12 points against divorce in Malta. With all due respect, I believe this is a real load of crap. By this same logic, would not an “annulled” or “separated” husband also be able to resort to the same kind of battering at the expense of his new wife or partner?

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech seems to have given his financial portfolio a break for the last four weeks of the divorce campaign to announce that Our Lady of Sorrows is greatly perturbed at the idea of having divorce made available in Malta. Perhaps Mr Fenech could also tell us whether free flights offered to Arsenal supporting ministers by possible bidders for government contracts is also found to be upsetting.

Divorce Dirty Tricks, Thousands of Dollars of Legal Know-How

Divorce Dirty Tricks

Divorce Dirty Tricks

Divorce Dirty Tricks

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