Updated | OPM questions Busuttil’s proposal for one national day

Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil has failed to understand the spirit of national unity instilled by the government, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement.

Reacting to comments made by Busuttil during a PN activity on Sunday evening, the OPM accused the PN leader of sowing division.

“It is sad to see the leader of the opposition failing to understand the spirit of national unity which this government has brought about,” the OPM said.

“In the year that Malta is celebrating 35 years of Freedom, 40 years Republic and 50 years of Independence, Busuttil chose to single out one of these achievements.”

Addressing a PN event at the Independence Gardens in Sliema, Busuttil proposed to make 21 September Malta’s only national day, a proposal which would “unite us as a nation”.

The OPM however described the comment as one that instilled division, made only 24 hours after talking about unity in a public event on Saturday evening.

It said that such discussions, whose ultimate aim is to see Malta united as one, should be held within the Constitutional Convention.

Busuttil insisted that the call for national unity shouldn’t be “just a slogan” but should be implemented in practice. “Above all, it should respect truth of what the people went through to achieve what we have today,” he said.

“Independence is the start and the foundation to all achievements Malta made in the past 50 years. This is something which is recognised by everyone,” Busuttil added.

The Nationalist Party, reacting to the OPM's statement, said that Freedom Day and Republic Day – amongst others – should be treated as national feasts but Independence Day should be the sole national day.

“Like several countries across the world, Malta should have one national day, Independence Day… the step that became the key to our future,” the PN said. 

He said he was sorry that the Prime Minister “did away with unity and instead chose to attack the proposal”. The PN added that it was high time the Prime Minister starting turning his words into actions.