Abela’s national truce: Independence and Republic as sole national days

The renewed debate on which of Malta's five national days should be the sole date on which to mark Maltese unity and nationhood, is being suggested by the President to be resolved by appeasing the two constitutional developments each championed by the Nationalist and Labour parties.

Abela said in his Republic Day speech that while all five national days - Independence, Republic, Freedom, Victory and the Sette Giugno bread riots - were of historical importance and fitting that they be celebrated as public holidays.

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But he said not all holidays should remain national days. "It seems to me that now our people is mature enough to come to a wide consensus so that, at least for the time being, not more than two of them be established as national days that should be celebrated with the same dignity and solemnity as befits national days," Abela said, proposing Independence and Republic day to be the two sole national days.

"I am of the opinion that Malta's national days should reflect a special significance and a particular relevance to the historical development which we have reached as a sovereign, independent and republican State."

Abela's suggestion proposes a form of national truce on the constitutional developments marking recent Maltese political history, achieved by Nationalist prime minister Gorg Borg Olivier in 1964 and by Labour prime minister Dom Mintoff in 1974.

But his proposal eschews the importance of Victory Day - 8 September - which marks the 1565 victory of the Knights of the Order of St John over an Ottoman invasion of the island, and the 1943 armistice that led to the end of the Italian campaign on Malta during World War II.

Abela also suggested that as is done in the Independence Day celebrations, on Republic Day a special commemoration be made on a suitable monument set up in a prominent place.

Referring to the dissolution of Parliament as from the coming 7th January, Abela augured that during the electoral campaign, the intelligence of the people would be respected through the proposals by politicians "of arguments in a civil and rational way without personal attacks that do no credit to anyone."

"Elections are an occasion when voters have the opportunity to calmly examine the electoral programme of the different parties and to directly express their preferences as to who they wish to govern our country for the coming years.

"The right to a free vote is the most important symbol of representative democracy which implies that electors, all eligible citizens over eighteen years of age, make use of their right to vote to elect members in the House of Representatives to represent them through the mandate which they give them to decide on their behalf when Parliament comes to discuss and approve laws or other matters."

Abela also said the President's forum which had discussed publicly the possibility of constitutional reform will continue to discuss this subject, and augured that the political parties would consider including in them proposals for institutional reforms.

The President also called for different opinions to have reasonable access to all who wish to make their voice heard during the elections.

"This is an essential requisite of democracy.  One hopes that, in the coming weeks, these fundamental principles will be respected in the public interest.

"Elections come and go and, no matter who will be the winner, one must always keep in mind that, at the end of the day, we are one People that is not as divided as politics may suggest. One expects that during the electoral campaign, which will last about two months, there will prevail an atmosphere conducive to less political fanaticism free of incidents but focused on matters of election debate."