Manuel Dimech visited Montenegro in 1903 for just a few days. By this time, he had already formed the idea that Malta should be an independent country, free of its colonial masters and in charge of its own destiny. During that brief time, Dimech actually saw his dream of Malta as a reality in a country much like his own.

On the narrow coastal plains of the beautiful Bay of Kotor, Dimech saw patriotism at its best. He was inspired by the pride of a people who for centuries refused to be subjugated by the dominant powers of that time. It could easily have been then that it dawned on him that his biggest hurdle to free Malta wasn't the colonial political system but the mentality of his compatriots. In the minds of the Maltese, Malta could not survive without a colonial master. To harbour a wish for real independence and for the citizens to take control of the country's destiny was to court national failure.

Dimech seems to have left Montenegro with a fresh impetus that renewed his struggle for Malta's independence by awakening the same patriotism in his own fellow countrymen. How ironic was it for me, therefore, to find myself last week reading his biography whilst on a plane heading for Montenegro. I could literally feel all of these thoughts and ideas forming in Dimech's mind. I, a Labourite since birth, by a strange twist of fate had been invited to a conference of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR).

A brief aside on European political families. The AECR is an umbrella organisation (or political family) of parties from 16 countries that organise meetings and conferences of prime ministers, ministers, MEPs and MPs to discuss issues of common interest. Malta's PN belongs to the conservative political family called EPP and PL belongs to the socialist family called PES. Both PES and EPP are federalists who actively support the supranational centralisation of power to the EU and accept the imposition of laws on our citizens. Inversely, the parties of the AECR, of which the UK Conservatives are a member, all want to reform the EU and return power to the national parliaments.

 

'Submissiveness is the virtue of serfs' - Manwel Dimech

During a conference, I was asked to explain two developments in Maltese politics. The first was the unusual position of Maltese political parties with regard to European federalism. Whereas in most of Europe the right is associated more with self-determination and the left wing with 'federalism', in Malta the opposite is true.

While the socialists created the Maltese Republic, worked for Independence and initially resisted joining the EU, the 'Nationalists' got us into the European Union and give their full support to the federalist project. The second issue that interested the Europeans was why the PN coalition of conservatives and liberals fell apart in the last election and how these liberals could capture Labour and rebrand it as PL (Progressive Liberals).

The combined effect of these developments is that both PN and PL now are centre-right parties that embrace the federalist ideology of an ever-closer union. Neither party has any credibility when it comes to standing up for the interests of Malta against the European Union (or anyone else). The political elites have reverted to the view that Malta must give up its independence to survive. That Malta as a sovereign country would be doomed to economic stagnation. This time, our local elites want us to be subservient to the new colonial masters, the unelected officials of Brussels. This is a view not widely shared by the electorate who still believe that the laws are - and should be - passed by our own parliament.

There is an ideological vacuum forming both on the right and left. The Conservatives in the PN are financially and ideologically bankrupt. They will need much time to regain their previous credibility and deliver an acceptable message. And the present PL government is only left wing in name and in its association with the past. It promises much and delivers little. It lies and it certainly does not believe in the values of its founding fathers. Today, the PL has become a media driven party that rushes though half-baked laws to please a few liberal journalists and our overseers in Brussels (civil marriage, gay adoption and gender changes). The views of party members, their voters and the majority of the Maltese are less important. Both the major parties are now cut off from their ideological core and the values of voters. As has happened in other countries with a similar development, the parties responsible will be rejected at the next election.

 

'Men are not judged by what they can do but by what they do' - Manwel Dimech

In reality, politics in Malta is no longer based on a left-right ideological split. The fundamental conflict now is between a) centralisation and decentralisation, b) European federalism versus national sovereignty, c) concentration of power in the hands of the elite or the delegation of power to the nations, regions and individuals. The real question now is whether we will accept that the two parties play "musical chairs" or if we will hold them to account by electing a new set of parliamentarians.

Of course we are European and have an affinity with the other peoples of Europe. But our real kinship is with those of Maltese culture, heritage, thought and values. We will accept cooperation and common rules on technical issues such as trade and cross border pollution. But we must reject being ruled by Austrians, Bulgarians, Croatians, Danes, Estonians and Finns on social policy, taxation and moral questions. Those decisions have been bequeathed to us by those who sacrificed much more than we ever will.

No matter how hard the EU tries to impose common views and values across the continent, we will not accept rule by anyone if they are not kin. We have a unique Maltese identity that is different from the rest of the EU and we value the independence of our Republic and our freedoms, our basic belief system and our way of life. We don't want to be a village on the outskirts of someone else's empire. We don't have to be.

We all have the task of rebuilding our nation and giving it back dignity, sovereignty and identity. Like in Dimech's time, the real battle starts in our minds.