The inauguration of President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca on Friday, a few days after celebrating the 35th anniversary of Freedom Day (31st March 1979), gave occasion for a reshuffle to Joseph Muscat’s Cabinet of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, the first such Cabinet of this young Prime Minister who assumed office after the historic Labour Party victory of 9 March 2013.

This Cabinet reshuffle included the resignations of Minister for Health Dr Godfrey Farrugia and of Parliamentary Secretary Dr Franco Mercieca, who were both appointed last year for the first time, and of Labour veteran Karmenu Vella, Minister for Tourism, who will now be nominated for the position of Commissioner of the EU. Mr Vella’s departure from Cabinet is of special symbolic significance, since he is the last of the close collaborators of Dom Mintoff to leave the front-line of Maltese politics and signals the end of the post-independence epoch, which in effect came to a close 10 years ago when Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004

Taking into consideration the scholarship available today, I am of the opinion that the post-colonial era – 40 years after independence, 1964-2004 – may best be described as “populist”, as in this period the Maltese governments, although enjoying full sovereign rights as from 21st September 1964, had to find their way and re-organise the institutional infrastructure left behind by the colonizing power. The Maltese parliaments of this period had to create the Republic and to dismantle the foreign military base, one of the reforms necessary for the country to have viable political institutions.

These historic changes however required a justifying cause as the over-riding principle of national unity, which could no longer be found in military force or church influence – options that were available under foreign rule. This justifying over-riding principle was found to be popular majority rule and was inserted in our Constitution in 1987. This principle – decision by the majority – was employed in 2003 to enable the country to decide by means of a Referendum and General Election on its relations with the European Union, enabling Malta to pursue a global vision which only such a block can provide.

Mario Mifsud

Hamrun