Most countries in the world have one national day, or at most, two. A national day is normally one on which people celebrate their country and, in most cases, it is held on the date that the country became independent or a new government was formed. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the UK does not have one, but most treat the Queen's Official Birthday as such.
Malta, on the other hand, is the only country in the world that has not one, not two, but five national feasts and, of course, this year we will celebrate all of them - just as we did last year, the year before that and the year before that. We've been doing so for the past 10 years and for decades before joining the European Union we celebrated four national feasts with no major issues.
This year also happens to be the 50th anniversary of Malta obtaining independence from Britain but, when our celebrations should have been at their best, our political leaders not only invited the ex to the wedding (Prince William) but also worked themselves into a lather bickering about which of these five days is most important.
Seriously, sometimes I wonder what they do all day and how come they have time to bother with such fake patriotism. I mean, it's fine for Cettina and Joey to have this sort of discussion on their way to the grocer, and even for Mario and Johnny to argue about it until they are blue in the face, but for our two main political leaders, and their party machines, to get into what is essentially a childish squabble about which day is more important than the other, is ludicrous.
Apart from the five national holidays, which are Sette Giugno, the Feast of our Lady of Victories, Freedom Day, Republic Day and 50 years of Independence this year we also celebrate:
- 40 years since becoming a republic on 13 December 1974, (the Queen was replaced as head of state by a Maltese president);
- 35 years since Malta stopped being a military base on 31 March 1979 and
- 10 years since Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
Apart from when Malta joined the EU 10 years ago, the current Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition cannot possibly remember much about the other days, at least not first hand. Like me, they might have read, heard and learnt about those days and what led to them. They might feel passionate about the trials and tribulations that were faced to get there, but how dare either of them try to minimise or maximise the importance of one at the cost of the other?
They claim that the official intention behind all of this is to stop the partisan approach to these so-called national days, but how on earth did they think that this would happen by poking their political faces into the matter?
Isn't it obvious that, the moment a political leader cranks his neck into something, especially something so symbolic, it automatically becomes even more political (with a small 'p') than ever?
The truth is that even the most die-hard Labourites enjoy their day off on 21 September, and though they might not be among those on The Granaries eating hot dogs and watching mediocre shows, they too appreciate the free day. They might not understand or appreciate the historic context of it, because their version of the facts has been tinged in red, but the same goes for the bluest of Nationalists who will never give up their holiday on 13 December, even if they think that historically it's a farce.
Whether it's a national day or just a public holiday affects the few and far between, but as long as our country remains controlled by this bi-partisan situation, there is no way on earth that we can sort this one out, at least not without going back in time or coming close to a civil war. And, in any event, such sorting out will not change anything practical, will it? So why don't we just cut the crap, let things be and concentrate on what actually matters?
And instead of bickering across different sections of the media, and playing charades with Princes and Princesses, why don't our political leaders take a basic course in psychology?
Simon Busuttil should learn that even the calmest of dogs will bite if backed into a corner and that therefore his suggestion to make 21 September the only national day was just provocation in this vein.
And whilst Muscat was just as petty when he suggested that the number of national days should be reduced to two, at least he had the good sense to tell the Maltese to "put aside the old nonsense and join the independence anniversary celebrations".
A couple of psychology classes might also teach them that the only way to put an end to this silly attitude - and for both days to be given the importance they deserve - is if both parties celebrate both days together. What is it they say? Lead by example, not by being an arrogant jerk?
In a few days time we will all come to our senses and realise that this was just a useless and needless discussion, possibly staged to distract us from other hot issues such as the thousands of immigrants dying in our seas and, the anti-democratic decision to cancel local council elections that will only serve to give a leg-up to the hunting community in the abrogative referendum.
ntil then, let's continue to enjoy being the country with the most national holidays in the European Union, shall we?