Now that the result is in and the ‘Yes’ campaign has declared victory, it is time for the Maltese people to stop and reflect. This has, to their credit, been acknowledged by the ‘No’ campaigners including the much-maligned Church. It is not however the defeated minority with whom I am concerned; it is Malta as a whole. History will say that the ‘Yes’ campaigners won a victory, but I think it is important to consider exactly what the Maltese people have won.

I see no great victory, more a mass outbreak of common sense at the 11th hour. With the victory in the polls Malta has avoided ridicule and international mockery; to outlaw divorce is one thing, to have a vote on the matter and decide to keep such archaic laws would have been a disaster. Malta cannot hope to be taken seriously by the international community if such lapses into Third World thinking are not completely eradicated. That this issue even went to a referendum is in itself the cause of much scorn. Many of my own friends and family abroad could not actually believe that a country claiming to be a modern democracy had allowed such an issue to reach that point.

What perhaps is the saddest part of the whole fiasco is the response of the government. Having initially shirked the responsibility bestowed upon them by the Maltese people, they then completely misinterpreted the mood of the nation with Lawrence Gonzi’s fervent support of the ‘No’ campaign along with some ill-advised comments from his wife. After all this, it seems Dr Gonzi lacks even the good grace to lose properly. Shame on you Dr Gonzi. I guess he is not interested in re-election.

■ Owen Jones

Sliema