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Kurt Sansone
With the proposition to entrench anti-abortion laws in the Constitution currently stalled because of the Malta Labour Party’s non-position on the issue, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday said he would not guarantee whether the issue would not be used as ammunition against their adversaries.
Asked by MaltaToday whether he could give a guarantee that the Nationalist Party or its media will not be using the Constitutional entrenchment issue on the eve of the next election to tar the PN’s political opponents which did not agree with the proposal, Lawrence Gonzi said he does not give guarantees.
The Prime Minister’s statement during the monthly press briefing held yesterday flies in the face of declarations made by his deputy, Tonio Borg, and those supporting the initiative to entrench anti-abortion laws in the Constitution that the issue is above politics.
Unless the Labour Party takes an official stand on the issue, Government will not be pushing ahead with the proposal.
“To change the Constitution we need to have the Labour Party on board. Unless they take an official position we cannot pursue the issue further and we will have to wait until the Labour Party pronounces itself officially,” Gonzi said when asked by another journalist what was the next step after Tonio Borg’s self-imposed 31 May deadline for reactions expired.
“There is no hurry. The world will not end just because the deadline expired. We did the most sensible thing and asked civil society and the general public to express their opinion on the issue. But we have to note the overwhelming support the initiative has received,” Gonzi continued.
But the Prime Minister would not be taken in by arguments made this week by PN education academy (AZAD) head Ranier Fsadni, and philosopher and Fenech Adami confidant Fr Peter Serracino Inglott, who expressed their opposition to entrenching abortion in the Constitution.
In his monthly appointment with the press yesterday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said he could not give a guarantee the PN would not be using the Constitutional entrenchment issue on the eve of the next election to tar its opponents.
Ranier Fsadni and Fr Peter Serracino Inglott have argued that given the ever-changing nature of medicine it would be a mistake to entrench the criminal code in the Constitution since it is intrinsically linked to the issue of when life begins. And over the years there has been a changing definition of when life begins made possible by advanced scientific medical knowledge.
Entrenching the criminal code would make it very difficult to change in the future if medical developments would necessitate the change.
Ignoring these subtleties, Lawrence Gonzi yesterday insisted the proposal was a “very simple one” and had no bearing on the ongoing discussion to regulate in vitro fertilisation.
“How can one criticise such a proposal? It is something natural,” Gonzi said.
Talking about other issues, the Prime Minister expressed cautious optimism on positive prospects in the manufacturing sector and foreign direct investment. Gonzi also said that public finances were on track with budget predictions.
Touching on environmental issues, the Prime Minister announced that shortly Government would be publishing its policy on the creation of artificial islands utilising construction waste to reclaim land from the sea. Without giving details, Gonzi said the policy would also identify the areas around Malta where reclamation is possible.
As for illegal dumping of waste, including the unsightly posters stuck to trees and road signs, Gonzi said harsher penalties will be announced soon to stamp out perpetrators.
Asked about the extraordinary length of time being taken up by former Judge Franco Depasquale to conclude the inquiry into the brutal beating of asylum seekers by Armed Forces personnel at the Safi barracks last January, Gonzi insisted he would not interfere with proceedings of the inquiry.
“I have left the inquiry in the judge’s hands and I will not pronounce myself on any aspect of the inquiry. I am certain the judge will carry out his duty well,” Gonzi told MaltaToday.
Commenting on the upcoming EU budget talks, Gonzi said it was very difficult for the EU25 to agree by the end of June on the bloc’s budget for 2007-2013. The Prime Minister said the situation was further complicated by the no votes in the French and Dutch referenda.
“The discussions are an uphill struggle and it is highly unlikely that agreement will be reached by the end of the Luxembourgen presidency,” Gonzi said.
Malta’s main contention, the Prime Minister explained, was the distribution key used to apportion funds between the different member states.
The distribution key, a mathematical formula, was construed in the past to advantage sparsely populated regions in the EU, with the assumption that these areas represent mainly rural and underdeveloped areas.
But with Malta’s population density being 15 times more than the EU average, the distribution key puts Malta at a great disadvantage.
On the domestic front, Gonzi accused Opposition Leader Alfred Sant of adopting a strategy to undermine reforms in Government controlled entities. Referring to the Sea Malta privatisation, Gonzi insisted the company had to undergo serious restructuring. He said the service offered by Sea Malta had to continue but should not be subsidised by public funds.
Gonzi said discussions with parties interested in purchasing Sea Malta were ongoing and “any criticism at this stage can jeopardise the talks.”
When MaltaToday pointed out that it was Minister Austin Gatt and not Dr Sant who admitted Sea Malta was a failure and Government was ready to close it down if no solution was found, the Prime Minister said the company’s accounts were there for all to see.
Pressed by another journalist, Gonzi would not guarantee that none of Sea Malta’s employees would lose their job.
On tourism, Gonzi denied the sector was going through a crisis. “Quarter one statistics have shown a marginal decrease in incoming tourists. It is not a crisis but we have to be alert.”
Asked to comment about complaints made by hoteliers that tourists were opting for shorter bed nights, meaning less income unless numbers increased dramatically, Gonzi said this was a new trend but the tourism minister and the Malta Tourism Authority were conscious of this.
“They have started new marketing initiatives and recently the MTA CEO met English tour operators. We are on constant alert to what is happening. The issue is one of competitiveness, marketing and branding,” Gonzi said.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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