News • 02 March 2003

EU offers Opportunity to grab the bull by the horns

Alternattiva Demokratika’s secretary general Stephen Cachia is not at all impressed with the MLP’s stand on the referendum. Julian Manduca met up with him to get his views on the coming weeks

For Stephen Cachia, the Secretary general of the European Greens, joining the EU provides an opportunity that was unimaginable a short ten or so years ago.

"The March 8 referendum will see a crucial decision for Malta. I strongly feel that a victory for the ‘yes’ camp is crucial for Malta. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us Maltese to improve the quality of our life.

"To get away from the rhetoric of environmental improvement, improving workers rights, improving the rights of women, and those of minority groups; and really having clear targets and achieving them."

"Unfortunately the ‘no’ camp is trying to deprive Malta of this quality leap and the Malta Labour Party is trying to render the result of the referendum as useless with its hypocritical directive to abstain, or destroy one’s vote.

"I think the only problem is that the result will probably be interpreted differently by the two camps.

"At AD, we were one of the first, ironically with the General Workers Union, to call for a referendum on the EU. The idea that a supposedly democratic party holds that a referendum is not a democratic exercise and will not respect its result, is really unacceptable in a democratic society."

"Who does Alfred Sant think he is to claim that his opinion is better than the rest of the Maltese?"

I point out to Cachia that the MLP complains it is not getting a fair deal and speaks of a democratic deficit.

"Coming from one of the very few political parties in Europe that has its own TV and radio station, website, newspaper, those are choice words. What should AD say when it has been systematically excluded by the Labour Party. I have been told there are directives to exclude AD from all Labour programmes. The MLP has some cheek to speak about democratic deficits."

"The talk of democratic deficits is just an excuse to prepare the electorate for what will be a likely defeat for the ‘no’ camp at the polls."

"I hope that some of those in the Labour party leadership will have the courage to accept the result, but I have my grave doubts."

"The most likely scenario is that the Labour Party will decide only after the referendum result is known what stand to take. If the result is favourable to Labour, it will claim victory, and if not it will say that the referendum was meaningless. It is taking a stand that severely lessens its democratic credibility."

"In elections invalid votes and those of people staying at home are not counted, why should it be any different for the referendum."

The Greens are unequivocal in their position on the referendum outcome: "AD is clear on its stand. A majority of valid votes cast will decide."

AD has been a strong supporter of EU accession, and Cachia explains.

"It is very clear that the EU is not heaven on earth, nobody from AD has ever claimed that. EU accession is a clear opportunity for Malta to grab the bull by its horns and start tackling many of its problems, with EU financial and technical help."

"The EU sets targets that many of us who were active in the political and socio-environmental fields believed that we would never have achieved in our lifetime."

"A sort of miracle has happened in that issues that were scoffed at by the political milieu when we raised them some 10 years ago have now become mainstream issues. The other political parties are trying to give the impression of going head over heals to becoming Green parties."

"It is important the EU creates a situation where power moves away from the politicians, and towards civil society and citizens, in order to put pressure on politicians to achieve EU targets."

Cachia has some scathing things to say about the partnership option:

"The partnership option is a very weak alternative to EU membership. It is worse because if you look at what non-membership means, if you look at Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, members of the European Economic Area, have to accept many of the EU rules without having any say in the decisions. "No country has opted for the partnership option and there are many that want to join; the EEA countries do not have a partnership relationship like what Alfred Sant wants."

"Another thing I fail to understand, is that socialist and labour parties in Europe favour EU membership, and the majority of Green, progressive and left-wing parties also support the idea, while the MLP remains stoically alone against."

"The EU has clearly stated that with non-membership countries, it will insist on a number of issues, and Alfred Sant’s idea that Malta can be more flexible remaining out of the EU is a scary option.

"Does flexibility mean the Labour Party will accept inferior labour laws? Laws related to health and safety at work? Is Alfred Sant in favour of having inferior laws on the environment so the business community would get away with inferior environment improving measures? Does he want cheap labour? What does he mean by flexibility? This is surely not the direction a progressive left wing party should be taking. Woe betides that he is thinking of flexibility to his own party’s partisan advantage.

"Professor Lino Briguglio recently made the important point that, from an economic point of view, from the point of view of investors, flexibility is not a positive position.

"It is better to have serious standards so that businesses are aware of the conditions they have to operate in, than to have flexibility that means things could change from month to month, year to year. This would not project a serious image for our country."

Turning from MLP to PN, Cachia shows he has not been impressed with the government’s performance in some sectors over the past years, but says AD supports the government’s wish to enter the EU.

"We have criticised the PN in government on a number of issues, especially its laissez faire attitude towards the environment. Not only on crucial areas like air quality and waste control, where things have actually started to move because of the EU, but also the attitude of government to land development.

"There is still the attitude that when choosing between saving a last pocket of countryside and building development, the government all too often stood on the side of the developer."

"However at the moment the crucial issue is EU accession. Ironically enough it has had to be a centre right party to take Malta into the EU and we raise our cap to the PN that it has had the vision to push forward EU accession."

"From feedback we have had during the last months many people will vote PN because of the EU, and not for the MLP because they believe it would stop the accession process."

What about AD?

"There is a role for AD to push the government to improve standards."

"We are contesting the local elections on local issues in a national context as many of the issues related to transport, waste, pollution, social issues such as day care centres. So far the response we have had has been extremely good."