The Nationalist Party media has become a circus in disguise. One stalwart adorning this circus is Karl Stagno Navarra, who recently decried Labour MEPs for voting in favour of gay marriages during last January’s Strasbourg session.
On the PN’s only on-line media outlet, Stagno Navarra questions the morality behind the MLP and asks what moves are in store – adoption by gay couples, divorce, abortion? He goes on to speculate why the Church has not condemned the Labour Party for supporting gay marriages and urges it to ask Labour for explanations.
This is political irony at its best. The party-line that was so obsessed with EU membership is now lamenting Labour’s support of what is fast becoming mainstream EU politics.
For those who are yet unaware, the Nationalist Party is generally considered by European Parliamentarians as an extreme right Catholic party. Even its name, evoking nationalism (albeit a historic eulogy to Italian nationalism) is seen as quirky at the very least.
The Church still exercises a strong presence in Maltese politics, even if tacit, and the Nationalist Party rides high on its back. That is why Stagno Navarra felt so dismayed at the Church’s lack of condemnation. He must have expected another 60s style mortal-sin spin off.
And yet, this comes from the same party that preached on human rights; that the EU is the beacon of democracy.
In contrast, here is this gem of a quotation:
“In a secular and Catholic State,” Stagno Navarra writes in Maltese, “the MLP is obliged to explain its liberal agenda, and not, through its elected deputies, and in the name of the Maltese people, vote in favour of such a position and all its implications.”
First, what does a “secular and Catholic state” mean to Mr Stagno Navarra? Does it mean that it is secular to the extent allowed by Catholicism? In that case it would not be secular at all.
Second, the elected deputies represent the voters that elected them, not the whole Maltese nation. This is a misperception that Mr Stagno Navarra has yet to fathom. The European Parliament is the only EU institution that is directly elected by the electorates in the EU. And since every nation is diverse within itself, their elected representatives support diverse issues. The three Labour MEPs represent Labour voters; they don’t represent the people of Malta.
Stagno Navarra’s excited disgust at Labour’s stance hardly reflects his knowledge of the political scene at EU level. I would have found it more disgusting had any gay MEPs voted against gay marriages, for that shows political hypocrisy at its best.
EU mainstream views
Whether we like it or not the mainstream EU views will one day have to apply to Malta as well, with or without Stagno Navarra’s crusade. What the EU considers human rights, today and in the future, will eventually apply throughout the whole Union. That is the direction the EU is taking. Stagno Navarra had better direct his woes towards the prime minister, who has been so complacent towards further EU unification, even to the point of making a complete fool of himself in the EU arena.
Gay marriages, of course, have more to do with legal rights than with morality. People who decide to commit their lives to each other, and to pool their gains towards this shared life, should have the same legal rights to security as traditional marriages. These rights concern the death of a partner or break ups in relationships. They concern property rights, succession rights, the right for a commitment to be recognised by the State.
A case in point is that of a 60-year old UK woman whose gay partner died and who was eventually thrown out of her home by the relatives of the deceased partner with the backing of the court. Gay movements around the world do not fight for these rights in order to be allowed to walk to an altar dressed up as bride and groom. They fight because laws discriminate against their social situation; their subculture, which is as valid as the traditional culture.
This view is gathering pace throughout the western parts of the EU and it is no wonder that the European Parliament voted in favour of gay marriages.
The drive towards social progress
Many gays in Malta voted for EU membership expecting to benefit from current European trends towards gays. Funnily enough, it is the same party that supported EU membership which is now blocking this positive EU aspect. Meanwhile, it supports further political unification of the EU without recognising that this is economically damaging to Malta.
It is no surprise that the Labour Party, traditionally representing secularism and social progress, supports gay marriages. And it also supports divorce. The fact that these social issues are not at the top of Labour’s political agenda sadly reflects the general mentality of the people. It creates what is called political expediency. The drive, therefore, has had to come from the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, Mr Stagno Navarra wants to unleash the Church on Labour and set the house on fire.
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Sharon Ellul Bonici is a Labour Party candidate currently working in the European Parliament in the political field.