The debate about divorce, such as it is, seems increasingly distanced from the world – as opposed to the two small islands – in which we live. It feels as though the referendum is about to take place in some kind of parallel universe. There is a curious air of unreality about it all, as though we have moved with Alice through the looking glass.

The campaigners for the Yes and No vote are upset by the lack of interest, but their surprise and dismay is misplaced. Interest and engagement peaked a while back and are now in freefall. The whole thing has been a mess from start to what looks to be a spectacularly messy finish with a resounding No result, and the exercise seems ever more futile and silly – and a needlessly expensive and unwanted disruption. Over and above that, lots of people have problems with the referendum itself – either with the question or because they disagree that the matter should be put to a referendum vote at all. They will not be voting, or they will be doing so against their will and their conscience, in the spirit that the end justifies the means. All of this does not make for motivation or for spirited debate.

But the real problem is that people are bored of it all. After decades of chat, there is absolutely nothing left to say. MaltaToday tries to keep the divorce flag flying, dedicating plenty of space to the subject and even practically an entire edition a couple of Sundays ago, I suspect largely because Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is its new best friend. But it falls flat. Bar the politicians, the religious zealots and those who want a divorce for themselves and to hell with the wider issues, apathy has increased while the No vote has hardened. I have no polls to look at, but I have a bit of a sixth sense for these things.

Those whose stance is essentially anti-democratic where this matter is concerned, like the Prime Minister, very many MPs on both sides of the House, and the anti-divorce movement, are entrenched in their views and nothing will change them. They have a great deal of support among the electorate, not because of religion as many mistakenly think, but because the democratic spirit in Malta is very, very weak. People simply do not grasp basic democratic principles, and when even the greatest exponents of democracy in Malta – the present and former leader of the Nationalist Party – cannot understand just how they are breaking faith with their core values (which are all essentially about democracy and the fact that the individual must never be sacrificed to any perceived common good), then it is time to give up.

Strangely, the very thing that should have motivated people and turned divorce into a topical issue – the looming referendum – has instead had the reverse effect of putting people off and engendering apathy. Divorce has been reduced virtually overnight to a non-issue. The political parties’ wrangling about the 2,800 new adults who have been left off the electoral roll has taken on the aspect of two drunks brawling outside a public house while the rest of us carry on talking and drinking inside, barely aware of the punch-up.

Interest in the referendum debate is not great because many people are resentful of the referendum itself. Resentment is the polar opposite of enthusiasm. It’s a damned shame that neither party leader had the strength of character and grasp of democratic principles to commit his party to divorce at the next general election. The country will now have to pay the price for their failure. Divorce will not go away with a No vote. It will merely prolong the boredom and the futility of staving off the evitable, to no discernible end.

www.daphnecaruanagalizia.com