With reference to the ongoing discussion following the Conference on Marriage organised by three Church groups, and also in view of the extremely valid point that our Archbishop made on the programme Dissett last week, where he quite rightly emphasised that it was not solely up to the Church to work to save the family but that the State should have an equal interest in protecting what is the foundation of society, may I point out that during the last election campaign Azzjoni Nazzjonali had this to say in its Electoral Manifesto in Chapter 5, dedicated to the family

The preamble states inter alia: We are living in a society where more and more children are born out of wedlock and where the State is subsidising single parenthood and the counter-family lifestyle to such an extent that it is creating a generation of young men and women unwilling to commit themselves to the responsibility that the rearing of children demands.

5.01 Divorce is no solution. First we have to tackle the reasons for divorce before adopting strategies that have not done much good to the societies that adopted them.

5.02 We need to have in place educational programmes that extol the virtues of the traditional family, now under attack from all quarters. Such programmes should teach responsible sex to counter the irresponsible behaviour we see in films, on TV and in the media.

5.07 An institute dedicated to the support of the family should be set up with two principle aims:

• To create, promote, administer and subsidise a range of programmes that would support the family, like units in all primary schools to cater for the needs of each area.

• To conduct research in the causes of family breakdown and create strategies to combat these causes.

5.12 In cases of separation between married couples or cohabiting couples, the interests of the children have to be safeguarded and must come first. They shall have the legal right to 50 per cent of the community assets.

The manifesto also made several suggestions regarding taxation and the family. In view of 5.02 it was interesting to hear the Archbishop state that there should be TV campaigns dedicated to the support of our families.

I personally believe that a single parent should not be given benefits on the strength of a declaration that the father is unknown or for multiplicity of reasons associated with this state. The parent rearing the child will be helped if necessary to take the case to court, which could order DNA tests. Those who try to dodge their responsibility will be made to pay. There are few instances in life where a deterrent does not help our errant human nature. If, on the other hand, people want to make their own “lifestyle choices” they have to face up to their responsibilities and not pass the bill to the taxpayer. There are many reasons contributing to the phenomenon of single parenthood and not all single parents are morally lax, although when we see girls as young as 12 becoming mothers, we cannot but question both the mores of our society as well as the effects of PSD in schools. This is certainly one area where the State cannot waive its responsibility. I suspect however that the benefits system in this area, together with the present climate of political correctness and the contributions to the press of those who think they are smarter than smart, have contributed to the present malaise.

Equally, the State has the duty to help create as much as possible the right environment for families to flourish. In a 2008 EU report published by the Institute for Family Policy, we are told that Maltese families are among those who have the lowest family benefits in the EU. Malta, said the report, is one of the EU member States investing least in the family.

We are the smallest of nation States living on two pieces of rock. It is beyond comprehension that our Immigration Department is unable to ensure that those who visit for a period of time leave at the end of that period. Should a moral government allow Malta to be flooded by East European women, many of whom are lured here for the purpose of illicit earnings? Should Maltese citizenship be so easy to acquire? Should there be so much drugs coming in when we have a small coastline and only one point of entry for those arriving by air? While far from proposing to turn Malta into a fortress under siege, the government has a duty to ensure that our young are not brought up in a morally degenerate society which echoes that of the West, described by Pope Benedict as suffering from a “deficit of hope”, where far too many people of all ages seek shallow sexual gratification with its attendant evils instead of faith and family values. Local parties held for the divorced, where condoms are donated to those who attend, are a perfect example of the trivialisation of sexuality.

Yes, the State has a lot to answer for but at the same time it can do a lot to help stop the spiral into the abyss. That is unless our politicians, like Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, believe that they “should not do God”.

Dr Muscat is Party Leader of Azzjoni Nazzjonali