Next year will see the 10th anniversary of Malta joining the EU. I recall that, prior to accession, so many issues were debated. However, one major issue escaped our attention: nobody realised the change that EU accession would bring within our political parties.

The first to be affected was the Labour Party. This might sound strange because, prior to accession, the PL’s position was one of rejection of the EU. The first decision that Labour had to take, following accession, concerned its position on the EU. It had to overturn its anti-EU policy in order to conform to the new reality. This abrupt change was not the easiest thing to achieve. In fact, some sections of the party never did accept it, but at least nowadays the official PL position is pro-EU.

This experience led to other changes. Labour decided to take an active role in the European political arena and joined the Party of the European Social-Democrats. In my opinion, this development constituted the re-launch of the PL. It showed them that left-wing parties throughout Europe were no longer addressing only the lower class but were formulating policies that appealed to the middle class instead. The Labour Party followed suit and in order to preach this new political line, it brought over a preacher from Europe, i.e. Joseph Muscat. In fact, soon after his appointment as party leader, the PL made a number of radical changes. It stopped referring to itself as “the workers’ party” and it stopped saying that its aim was to defend the weak and the poor. Instead, it started saying that Labour wanted to be a movement for the middle class and this new image was one of the factors which led to victory in the March election.

Unlike Labour, the Nationalist Party was not immediately affected by Malta’s accession to the EU – mainly for two reasons. Soon after accession, the PN was seen as the Party with a European vocation. Moreover, it was in government, so there was no urgent need for change.

However, the new European reality was rapidly changing the mentality of the Maltese. It is usually the case that changes are noticed after they have taken place, and this is what happened with the Nationalist Party. By the time the party noticed what was going on, it was too late.

The divorce issue and the rights of same-sex couples were among the changes that rocked the Maltese mentality – and they also rocked the PN, which was caught between two currents pushing in opposite directions. There was the new reality that was pushing for a more open view and there was the traditional party line that was finding it hard to conform to the changes. The clash between these two forces was unavoidable and this was one of the factors that led to a defeat, both in the referendum on divorce and in the last election.

This put the Nationalist Party at a political crossroads. The adoption of a more open attitude towards the new Maltese social pattern means that the party has to compromise with the traditional line. A continuation of the traditional view on this social pattern means that the party would remain faithful to its principles, but also that it would drift away from the new aspirations of the Maltese. Between the two positions, it seems that there is a wide consensus within the party to choose the former. In my opinion, this is a wise choice, because the social pattern is something that people decide on and political parties have to be prepared to take account of the situation and provide policies that address it.

Despite the wisdom of its decision, the PN is aware of the cost at which it might come. The conservative wing of the party might not regard the new position with favour. Nevertheless, I am confident that this hurdle can be overcome and, in my opinion, the solution is the new PN leader, Simon Busuttil. I judge Simon Busuttil to be a moderate and I believe he is the man who can speak to both the liberal and conservative wings of the party. Moreover, he has had first-hand experience at European level – where the changes that the party is facing were already addressed.

So, the Nationalist Party was affected by Malta’s accession to the EU as much as the Labour Party. However, I am not sure that we can say this with respect to the smaller parties. In fact, these have remained pretty much in the same situation they were in prior to accession. This is somewhat strange, but I am sure that it is just a matter of time. The EU experience is so overwhelming that, sooner or later, it affects every party and Maltese parties are certainly no exception.

Dr Kevin Cutajar is a Nationalist Party candidate for the forthcoming European Parliament elections

[email protected], www.kevincutajar.com