Fifty-two years ago, Malta was celebrating its first day of Independence, attained without bloodshed from the British.
Today, 52 years later, Malta is once again celebrating its birth as a nation, a birthday which finds a country that is completely different to the one that was led by Giorgio Borg Olivier on 21 September 1964.
Since then, Malta became a Republic, with a President to replace the Queen as head of state in 1974, saw the withdrawal of British forces from the island five years later and, in 2004, became a member of the European Union.
They have been 52 eventful years for Malta, more than a half century of social upheavals, political controversy and, unfortunately, also some years of strife and hardships in the early 1980s.
They were years in which Malta was transformed from a country that was still finding its feet after the Second World War and the tumultuous 1950s into a country with a solid economy, a flourishing tourism industry and a strong voice at the European table.
They were also years in which Malta could have done even better were it not for the political bickering, years in which the division into two tribes prevented further growth and development.
It was the first election after Independence which established a two-party system, because it’s been since 1966 that only two political parties are represented in the Maltese Parliament. Other parties were born, some died after a few years, and those which are still standing have made little impact on the national spectrum.
So far, each time an election approaches there is talk of a possibility that this duopoly is broken, but at the end of the day the two major parties have it their way and the status quo is retained.
This year’s Independence Day comes at a time when there is a steady gearing up towards the next election. We might still be 18 months or more away from the national poll, but it is clear that the political fire is stirring rapidly. Some may argue that we are always in election mode, and the regular scandals with which this government has been associated since its inauguration day have not helped defuse the situation. But the more days pass and the more the election draws nearer, the more the tension rises.
The Nationalist Party, which has been closely associated with Independence Day even because there was a time when Labour wanted to wipe it off the calendar (and why should both the President and the PM be away from the country on this particular day?), has already made it a point to say that 21 September will be its launching pad.
The PN will do well to remember that peaking too early will have its setbacks, but it is clear that PN leader Simon Busuttil wants to keep his troops on alert. For its part, Labour will use the remaining time to try to patch things up while minimising all the issues that have spelt trouble in the last 42 months.