Labour’s EU – shaken and stirred

It would not be much time before Louis Grech would have to move out of the “pretty face” comfort zone and be obliged to give us a demonstration of his political nous. “From Brussels with love” was his honeymoon period – yet another  EU veteran riding on the crest of “the EU wave of doing politics”. We sat through the Christmas period (or rather chomped) and watched the cute fund raising efforts and the truce that never was frittered into thin air.

Grech played in away territory today – hosted at the by now notoriously biased TV HEMM studio. Judging by the reports on Facebook it has gone down well with Labourite hopefuls – eager to get a bite of their new Messiah. Judging by the first report in the press it was yet another exercise of bull. Actually scratch that. It wasn’t… it was worse. Either MaltaToday has had a bad day pinpointing the highlights of Grech’s replies regarding his contribution to the NO TO EU camp or Grech really fluffed it.

In the end Louis Grech’s explanation for having been against EU membership sums up to two things : (1) it was not good for Air Malta and (2) there were aspects that could undermine the Maltese financial services industry. Following that, in what is an evidently an effort to feebly justify this sad excuse for a position on EU membership Grech comes up with a prize explanation:

“At my age it is ridiculous to state that something is totally wrong or good, and I believe one may say that it was only on certain aspects of EU membership that there were adverse effects for Malta. But on other aspects, for example the legislation of particular directives or even environmental monitoring, these were positive effects of membership. You cannot see these things as simply black or white.”

“Bravu Cirillu. Ghalhekk jghidulu hekk. Kakka f’qalzietu u mesah fil-glekk!”

Lest I am accused of doing a Normal Vella allow me to point out that the second part of the quote is mine. It’s the tune that resonated in my ears after reading that paragraph of circum tauri. Louis Grech conveniently forgot that this was a referendum. There were two options: either you voted yes – in which case it was Hello Ludwig Van’s 9th and all that – or you voted no – in which case it was back to Tema ’79. Simples. It was not a case of “you cannot see these things as simply black or white”… it was a case of “you have to decide “Yes or No”.

Louis Grech worked out his sums in 2003. He chose no. As a leader or deputy at the time he would have done the same. how do I know? Because he formed part of the movement that worked so bloody desperately to keep Malta out of Europe. Yes, with Joseph Muscat. Being nice to each other does not mean forgetting that these choices were made. Fuck political correctness (excuse my patois) but this is getting bloody ridiculous. Someone has to get Labour in order and get them to shoulder the responsibility of their decisions. What Louis Grech SHOULD have said but didn’t say is much, much simpler. It’s those three words that we find so hard to say in Malta: “I was wrong”.

This is not triumphalism of some Yes to EU camp. In my books everybody won on the 8th March 2003. Even Louis Grech and Joseph Muscat. This is the gauging of a future leader of a party (or deputy) and how he takes responsibility for past decisions. Recognising when you are wrong is just as important as recognising when you were right.

The Malta Labour Party cannot keep shaking and stirring history in this infantile illusion of “everything is all right now – we are all friends now that we are in Europe”. Their position remains ambiguous so long as they do not openly state simply and squarely that their anti-EU stance in the past was WRONG. Excuses about Air Malta or malta’s financial services industry are neither here no there. Nobody ever said that EU membership was not about shouldering responsibility and yes, about making sacrifices.

What is worrying is that Labour still believes that politics can be built on illusions and half-truths. Shaking and stirring is for Bond and his Vodka Martinis. What Malta needs is clear and honest politics. Louis Grech has failed on this first count – and with him the Labour party. Sorry for party pooping but the honeymoon is over.