Learning from Dom Mintoff

I had to address a lot of the prejudices I had internalised before I was attracted to his ideas and policies. But I never swung to the other extreme, by idolising him, and he knew this and respected me for it.

From the various stimulating encounters I had with him over the years, most of  them taking place after he lashed out against 'Bartlu' in parliament, I believe that deep down he liked independent-minded people, and despised sycophants, although he often gave the opposite impression, frightening those who stood up to him. I learned a lot from him, even in the last meetings we had two years ago at his residence when we discussed Malta after World War II and his efforts to change Maltese society.

Although he cultivated a populist image as an 'anti-intellectual' who was 'anti-culture', there are few other individuals in Malta with whom I have had such deep discussions about philosophy, politics, theology and society.

I have enormous respect for Mintoff as a nation-builder and am equally critical of some of the things he did and how he operated. Malta is what it is today thanks in large measure to Dom Mintoff. His greatest achievements were:

• the birth of modern Malta, not serving anymore as a military base and in charge of its own destiny;
• the introduction of the welfare state that lifted so many out of poverty;
• legislation for decent working conditions and fair wealth distribution to create a middle class;
• the creation of conditions for a new economy built on manufacturing and tourism instead of one dependent on the military expenditure of those controlling Malta at the time;
• modernising the Constitution to set up the Republic, establishing fundamental human rights and taking the first steps towards Church-State separation;
• decriminalising homosexuality;
• introducing civil marriage;
• taking the initiative to ensure that the party with the majority of votes has the majority of seats in parliament.

In 'The Political Economy of Nationalism' British economist Dudley Seers says that the biggest obstacle small island States like Malta have in becoming self-reliant nations is not their geographic smallness or their military vulnerability, but the mindset of the elite. Seers says that in many former colonies, the elite often wants to imitate the former colonizer and this leads to failed sovereign States as their leaders are incapable of leading their nations on an independent path that manages properly and in their own interest, interdependence with the rest of the world.

Seers identifies Dom Mintoff as being one of the few exceptional leaders who had the ability to see with his own eyes, think with his own brains and overcome mimicry in his attitudes and behaviour. This is what, intellectually, his famous adage 'Malta first and foremost' meant.

We should build on this legacy, especially now that we are the tiniest Member State of the EU and we already run a serious risk of being overwhelmed by decisions and policies that do not necessarily take our reality and needs into consideration. We must get our act together to be vigorously engaged in all the stages of the policies and decision-making processes in all the EU institutions with our feet firmly planted in the reality of Malta and Gozo, striving always to influence EU policies in the interests of our  people.

As a young nation, we are still vulnerable after centuries of a dependent culture as our country changed hands from one foreign owner to another. Only if we are present within the EU with the mindset of a mature sovereign State will we ensure that 1 May, 2004 was a step forward and not a huge step back to the past.

The author is shadow minister for education.