Spring hunting should not become a political issue

The importance of avoiding a situation where the Spring Hunting Referendum becomes a political issue emerged as a salient point from NET- TV discussion forum Newsfeed this evening.

MaltaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan brought Switzerland and Italy as examples of best practices with respect to referenda. “Italy had a Christian Democrat  government which could not morally accept abortion, divorce and so on. They put these questions to referenda, effectively saying ‘I do not agree with this, but it is the right of the people to decide for themselves.’ ”

“We know that the majority of the Maltese are in favour of the abolition of spring hunting,” he added.

NET TV journalist Dione Borg, also on the panel for this discussion, told programme host Norman Vella  that political parties should desist from interfering in issues unrelated to partisan politics, however he expects that a political element will be introduced at some point. “It is odd that the Prime Minister publicised his position on the same day he announced the referendum, before any internal debate or discussion within the party”, he said pointing out that this has effectively placed pressure on party faithful to follow their leader’s vote.

The third member of the panel, broadcasting veteran Pierre Portelli concurred on this point. “You have to let your party choose a line of its choosing but this should not influence you”.

“One question that often arises is the right of a majority to decide on what is effectively a minority right, but this argument does not hold water as a referendum is democracy in its purest form” added Borg.

On the shadow cabinet reshuffle

There was a consensus on the necessity, if not the timing, of the recently announced reshuffle of the PN shadow cabinet. Portelli described the move as a very important decision. “Busuttil should ideally have taken this earlier, from an armchair critic’s perspective, but I am sure this will serve the PN and the country if everybody decides to work together.”  

Balzan concurred on the timing, describing the decision as “a very bold step. One that should have been done before but that is easier said than done. It may have come at a bad time, but there are posts that are very interesting indeed,” said the MaltaToday editor, adding that Busuttil can expect to face an uphill battle.

However Borg was in no doubt that it was a step in the right direction. “ When seen in conjunction with the internal structures that decide the party policies, I believe this is a very positive move,” he said, adding that the shadow cabinet should not be viewed in isolation.