Should political parties and politicians try to influence the electorate on how it should vote if a referendum on spring hunting takes place? Should the political parties represented in Parliament try to somehow obstruct the on-going referendum process once it is underway? 

These are the two most pertinent questions that cropped up lately, particularly since the campaign for the European Parliament elections started. The Leader of the Opposition was very clear whenever he was asked to declare the PN’s position on this referendum. I was also clear whenever I was asked the same question as Shadow Minister for this sector. We believe that the will of the people to decide this matter in a referendum should be fully respected. Needless to say, this respect should be extended to the acceptance of the result, whatever it is, if and when a referendum is held.

Whatever the basis for the argument to somehow halt this process, doing so or even perceived to be doing so is very undemocratic to say the least. This is why Dr Simon Busuttil was extremely clear in declaring this. Unlike Dr Joseph Muscat who first gave the impression that his government may consider going for such an option and then retracted when probably he found the time to do the necessary calculations.

Sections of the media kept pressing the Leader of the Opposition whether, however, the Nationalist Party will be taking a position on this issue.  When asked by The Malta Independent news editor Rachel Attard whether his party, our party, has a position or an opinion on the issue, Dr Busuttil was once again very clear. When in government, the Nationalist Party worked hard to retain a limited and controlled spring hunting season. Once in Opposition, the party could not just change its mind overnight. An inconsistent political party could never be credible.

It is very unfortunate that Labour’s electoral victory in March 2013 put all this in jeopardy. Even though both the government and the hunters’ associations refute the existence of a pre-electoral agreement on hunting, one cannot just ignore the fact that this government’s behaviour shows otherwise. In any case, this behaviour irked the eNGOs who thought it best to start the process that could lead to the holding of an abrogative referendum. They never felt the need to start such a process under a Nationalist administration. But they were certainly very alarmed at the way the newly elected Labour government was handling the issue.

Now that the process is well underway, the political parties and us politicians should take a back seat and let the democratic process take its course. If and when this is done, then it will be our turn to take the necessary steps to hold the referendum and accept the verdict and legislate accordingly. At no point should the issue become a political game because it is not. So the coalition against spring hunting was very correct when in a press statement it issued last Wednesday urged “politicians to resist using the referendum and spring hunting as a political football” and to “treat the referendum process as an essential part of the democratic structures and allow people to decide the issue accordingly”. Amen to that.

Charlo’ Bonnici is Opposition spokesperson on Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change