Speaking on Radio One this morning, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat spoke about the marriage equality bill which will start to be debated in Parliament tomorrow.
He said the government has chosen to amend the landmark Civil Marriage law that was introduced by Dom Mintoff in 1975. The government could choose a different path, had it wanted to. It could have amended the Civil Union Act and call it a marriage, but, had it done so, it would have created two classes of marriages.
Instead, it chose to go back to the original Civil Marriage Act and simply change one word, regarding the sex of the persons entering into a marriage.
Dr Muscat said he hopes the discussion will take this coming week and the one after that before a vote can be taken.
The government's plan is for Parliament to finish its business by the end of July. This work includes the discussion on many government organisations.
The coming days will also see the end of the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council. Dr Muscat said Malta had done well and has been praised by European chiefs and heads of government not with words of circumstance but with sincere admiration that a country so small could succeed where bigger ones failed.
He thanked all involved, from Louis Grech who put in a lot of work, to ministers, to the Brussels staff, down to people involved in logistics and taxi drivers.
Malta must treasure this experience. The first occasion when Malta uses this expertise will be next year when Valletta will be the European Capital of Culture.
Lastly, Dr Muscat spoke about the President's Speech on Saturday. The government had listened to the complaints made four years ago that the speech had contained much political content (as had always been the case) and with the President's help had come up with a far more positive, unifying, speech.