I agree that Glenn Micallef, Malta's Commissioner designate for the upcoming European Commission did rather well in the choice of sectors that President von der Leyen allocated to him to run (if he passes the European Parliament "exam", as is likely). Considering the competition he faced from the persons nominated as Commisioners by the other member states, he could have been dealt a much weaker hand.
True, what he has been assigned amounts to only half of what his predecessor managed. But he will still be running a Commission directorate general that is endowed with a substantial budget. The sector of youth affairs etc will allow him to roam all over Europe and if he works well in capillary mode on a trans-European level, he should be able to generate many worthwhile friendships.
On the other hand, one imagines that the Maltese Commissioner will hardly have much influence on how the new Commission will be developing its European policies. Not least in those sectors which most concern us - taxation, financial services, and European defence policy, especially in its impact on Malta's neutrality. One could argue that this was also the case in previous Commissions.
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MYTHS
It doesn't just happen here. All countries sustain their national way of life by preserving a belief in political myths that once created, are carried forward from generation to generation.
Actually we do have a good number of myths, among which those that relate to the times of St Paul, the Great Siege, the Sette Giugno riots and much else. There's no need for concern about this. Myths are necessary for the maintenance of a popular allegiance to the national identity.
However it could also happen that myths are born and developed out of a twisted appreciation of the reality. Unfortunately this has happened and is still happening frequently in our times, with myths that reflect partisan positions, that are hardly congruent with the real state of affairs, and that only serve to reinforce partisan controversies. Such myths - if they deserve that label - had better be discarded.
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NOT A MYTH
For sure, neutrality is not a myth but a reality which the Maltese people have adopted and with time began to appreciate more clearly. There are some who believe it is best to consider and present it as a myth, in order to devalue totally its real meaning.
If implemented with coherence and consistency, the neutrality of Malta should provide the compass for how the foreign and European policy of the country is put into action. It is not an approach that has been fashioned from the historical legends that sometimes get entangled with myths. It is a policy that has resulted from experience - from what could be called "trial and error", by which over the centuries, a small people tried various options to see what made best sense and what fitted best its particular circumstances.
Naturally, in this process mistakes were made, some of which we still have not understood well. But it would be a gross mistake were what has been achieved up to now let go with the excuse it's all based on a myth. It would be an even greater mistake if such a retreat gets the blessing of a Labour administration.