Gonzi speaks to EPP leaders on back-to-basics return to ‘common good’

Lawrence Gonzi's speech to a meeting of his Christian-democrat counterparts of the European People's Party, in Florence, hit at out the prevalence of relativism in Europe and the erosion and loss of "basic, common values".

As his government enters public consultations on legislation for cohabiting gay and straight couples, and a law on assisted reproduction that will ban embryo freezing, Gonzi told centre-right prime ministers and Opposition leaders that society was paying "a dear price" for this loss of values.

Gonzi's speech called on EU leaders to make a 'back to basics' return to values of human dignity, responsibility, togetherness, solidarity and subsidiarity, and the common good.

"How precious is the human life today? By precious I do not mean only the sanctity of the human person throughout the whole cycle of life but I also mean the dignity of the human person - a dignity that remains a central feature of our policies and our political activities. Have we not - in a sense - subjected this human dignity to the dignity of the financial markets?"

A day after Moody's issued a negative outlook for Malta's A3 bond rating, Gonzi even questioned whether politicians wanted to keep critics at bay or keep credit-rating agencies happy, instead of helping the jobless and those who cannot afford their university education.

Gonzi reaffirmed that the rescue of asylum seekers - where he termed irregular immigration as a vote-loser - was part of the country's non-negotiable values. "Do I succumb to the populist approach and pretend there is nothing I should do because this is somebody else's problem ? Or do I translate this non-negotiable value into practice, and do everything I can to save those lives at sea?"

The Prime Minister then latched on to the economic dimension, making a case to "unblock unsustainable and outdated subsidies" and divert funds into investment in human resources - a subtle hint at the EU's Common Agricultural Programme that takes up almost 45% of the EU's total budget.

Returning to the issue of values, Gonzi made a case for turning the common good into a non-negotiable value and to not sacrifice truth to politics.

"What values lie at the root of policies that give the impression that public spending has no limits? That we run into mountains of debts and shift the burden onto our children?

"My fear is that all too often we have allowed ourselves to forget basic values that should have given us clear replies to all these questions. And the result is there for all to see."