A stand in favour of divorce does not make you liberal, Jeffrey

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando claims Turkey is not culturally "European", and therefore it cannot ever be part of the EU.

This is quite a patronising remark considering that most Turks define themselves as Europeans. Just imagine the reaction of the Maltese if a Turkish MP was to question the European identity of the Maltese.

JPO's contention is not that Turkey does not fulfil the conditions of EU membership due to concerns on, for example, its treatment of the Kurdish minority; but that Turkey belongs to another cultural universe and therefore cannot be part of Europe.

JPO is surely not alone, neither in Malta nor in Europe where his views are identical to those of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. His views reflect a widely shared but still dangerous conception that identities are cast in stone.

Turkey's EU membership bid represented a unique and crucial phase in Turkey's evolution from secular dictatorship to civilian democracy.

In Turkey, EU democrats, liberals, some business circles, minorities, Kurds of Turkey, and most Turkish people, support membership,

"Unfortunately, some small part of the Turkish army, some mafia groups who were very good at killing people, some newspapers and media groups, and various fanatics and ultranationalists were resisting and plotting and doing things to block Turkey's entry to Europe," writes Turkish writer and noble prize laureate Orhan Pamuk.

Ironically Turkey's greatest progress on Kurdish cultural rights and human rights was registered under the mildly Islamist Justice and Development Party which is very similar in outlook to Malta's Nationalist Party. 

By shutting the door on Turkey, Europeans like JPO (and Merkel and Sarkozy) are pushing Turks the other way and this is evidenced by a more belligerent Turkish policy in Kurdish enclaves in Iraq.  

Turkey itself is also becoming more assertive in its Middle Eastern policy. But this Middle Eastern vocation may well strengthen rather than weaken Turkey's case for EU membership. Turkey serves as a rare example of political pluralism in the Muslim world.

But this could be an advantage if Turkey becomes a member of the EU as it would facilitate dialogue and bust once and for all the idea that Europe is the reincarnation of the crusading armies of the 12^th century.

Turkey's bid to join the EU says more on the way Europeans conceives their identity than about Turkish identity. Over the past decade Europe has moved away from an idea of Europe based on values like democracy and human rights to an obsession with borders and an increased fear of the others.

As Pamuk observes, Europe is also deciding about its identity through the question of whether to take Turkey in or not. "If Europe is a Christian club based on nationalism and Christianity, then Turkey has no place in Europe. But if Europe is based on liberté, egalité, fraternité, then Turkey has a place in Europe".

That is why I decided not to ignore JPO's rant despite an earlier temptation to do so. 

For while judging from comments on social networks it has opened a can of worms, it could provide an opportunity for all three political parties to speak on the way they conceive European identity.

The PN has mostly sold the EU as a land of milk and honey where all that mattered was the "mitt miljun" rather than the values and social model which makes Europe unique.

On the other hand the PL had only reluctantly accepted membership and judging from it immigration policy, it still is inclined to perceive the EU as a club where member states get what they want by stamping their feet.

By discussing Turkey's membership bid, both parties have the opportunity of telling us what kind of Europe they aspire to.

Not surprisingly JPO has struck a chord with a number of Maltese who either think of Europe as an exclusive club of Christian white men, or who still regard all other nations and peoples as threat.

I was not surprised by JPO's posturing to retrograde elements in Maltese society.  He is a reminder that a stand in favour of divorce or gay rights does not make you a political liberal. In fact it turns out that JPO is far more conservative than Tonio Borg in his views on what constitutes European identity. He was also far more conservative than Lawrence Gonzi when in 2009 he suggested that Malta should send immigrants back to Libya.

I surely feel uncomfortable debating the European credentials of other people, when I fully now that identities are in constant flux. But the discussion on Turkey is at least making us think about what makes us Europeans.