There is no doubt that before the Brexit vote, Joseph Muscat thought that Europe was all about being in favour of abortion, gay marriage and divorce. If you were a leftist, you could but embrace these principles and then you can do what the hell you want. Strictly speaking, this was the concept of Europe that we had before the Brexit vote.

If one remembers the grilling of Joe Borg for commissioner, the most enduring question was whether he was in favour or against abortion, even if, the post that he was contending had nothing to do with abortion. He was being grilled to become a commissioner for maritime affairs. The same happened to Tonio Borg. Perhaps, in his case issue of abortion was more relevant because he was going to be entrusted with the health sector and abortion is considered to fall under this portfolio. He made it through even if there were groups who voted against his nomination, carried away by their political convictions that any commissioner had to be in favour of abortion and that there was no place in Europe for a dissenting voice.  

This time round, both Toni Abela and Leo Brincat did not face any questions of confessional nature. Perhaps, one would say that this was so because they come from a party that has been pushing these values in the last three years here in Malta. Perhaps this may be true. But the Left is now faced with a much more bigger dilemma. The time for the Left to dictate Europe’s political agenda is over.

The Left has a custom that if you agree with its principle, you are a democrat and thus have all the right to exist. But if you are against those same principles, which the Left considers sacred, then you have no right for an opinion. There is not even a place for you in Europe. All discourse about diversity, so at heart to the Left, is forgotten and put at a side. Now homogeneity would be the buzzword.

This was the Europe that Joseph Muscat knew during his years as Malta’s MEP in Brussels. These confessional issues were so important that they overshadowed any question of corruption, money laundering and business at the expense of the EU. If someone embraced these principles so sacred for the Left, he or she was immune of any  European criticism. As the case of Joe Borg and Tonio Borg shows, it was not important how honest you are but how inclined to the principles of the Left that counted back then in Europe. At least, this was the image that emanated from Brussels before the Brexit vote.

Things have now changed for the better. The situation is no longer the same. Both Abela and Brincat were confident that they would make it. Then, the unexpected happened. Both found that the Left itself was not on their side and there were Socialists who opposed their nomination. These Socialists were not on their own. The Greens and other parties, which are normally associated with the left, voted against Leo Brincat.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. This was not an issue that Europe has something personal against these two gentlemen. I am sure that with today’s climate in Brussels, past nominations, as the one of John Dalli and Louis Galea, would have been also outright refused by the European parliament.

In this scenario, many thought that the Panama Papers are the real reason for this result. I have just returned from abroad, and I cannot fail to notice, that more than once, I was asked by people about the sale of Maltese passports. The selling of the Maltese Passports appears to be the real issue that men in the street are talking about Malta. This Government passed a law to make Henley and Partners rich. Ironically, the country for which access, most of its clients were buying the Maltese citizenship, has now opted out of the EU. In the process, Malta’s name ended up being flagged for the wrong reasons in Europe.

For this reason, I disagree with those who are arguing that the local Opposition MEPs have shamed Malta in Europe by voting against Leo Brincat. I can understand the feeling of those making this argument. As Maltese, we have a tendency to unite when confronted with a common obstacle. Yet, this vote did not come out of the blues or for unwarranted reasons. The reasons were all there. Any one could see it coming. The current image of Malta, with the man in the street in Europe, is extremely negative. European MEPs, whether on the left or the right of the Political spectrum, could not ignore this fact. At least, by having local Opposition MEPs joining the majority and voting against Brincat’s nomination, a positive message was sent that not everyone in Malta is in favour of the selling of the Maltese passports, or is happy with the Panama Papers and the Visa Scandal.

I am delighted to hear that during the opening of the Independence celebrations on Saturday, Dr. Busuttil spoke about the controversial IIP/ cash-for-passport schemes. Dr. Busuttil made it clear that his position has not changed. He is still against the scheme. Once in government, Dr. Busuttil promised, he would see how to change the scheme presumably for the better.

In my opinion, Dr. Busuttil should go one step further. He should make it clear that if the PN wins the next election, it will stop this scheme and will reveal the names of all those who have bought Maltese citizenship.

This scheme has done enough damage to Malta. It is a fact that there are individuals from the Opposition who are making money out of this project. Honestly, I don’t feel that they should be part of the Nationalist Party. If they want to indulge in this business, they have all the right to do so, but they should resign from the party. The selling of passports is doing great harm to Malta and its European vocation. In doing so, the PN will be showing that it has already started putting into practice what it is preaching about transparency and political honesty.