Joseph Muscat must be chewing his liver by now. The Libyan Crisis has propelled our Prime Minister back up in the popularity stakes thanks to the wonderful transformation of our island into the Florence Nightingale of the Mediterranean. After the early hesitant pussy-footing Prime Minister Gonzi took a stand in line with the UN, the EU and the major policy-makers of the West. The “neutrality” issue was only bandied about by remnants of the “That 70’s Show” that still tend to appear as uninvited warts in our political constellation.
Thankfully, Muscat’s labour distanced itself from the likes of Reno Calleja but it was already too late. Muscat had dilly-dallied and hedged his bets too far. He had once again proven himself to be a massive FAIL in the statesman department. All the better for Lawrence and his troops who could draw cheques on the well thought international reputation bequeathed by his nationalist predecessors. There is no doubt that on an international level most voters with a thinking head on their necks would prefer the consistency and statesmanship of Lawrence Gonzi any day.
Behind the Scenes
It’s not so airy fairy behind the scenes though is it? We may be passing through a moment when Facebook is full of Maltese of all colours and creeds declaiming their pride to be Maltese and joy to see their nation at the service of humanity and humanitarian activity. As shiploads and planeloads of escapees from Libya entered our air and sea ports we clapped enthusiastically and patted ourselves on the back for a job well done.
David Cameron stopped short of granting a new George Cross to the island (the reference to the first period of assistance by the Maltese was not so cryptic was it?) and US viewers got their umpteenth chance to discover that Malta was an “independent tiny island” in the Mediterranean (so we also got the publicity Joseph had crassly craved for).
But we kept smelling something fishy. For behind the statesmanlike dealing with the crisis there was an incredible volte-face at both a political and popular level. Just think of it. We were watching a boatload of 2,000 workers who had lost their job due to the events in a troubled nation. Few, if anybody, were calling for them to “Go Back to Their Country”. We were suddenly the most hospitable of nations – an oasis of opportunity.
What difference is there, I ask, between a boatload of Eritreans displaced by Civil War and a boatload of Chinese displaced by Civil War? The Chinese are going home I hear you say? Oh so that is what it takes does it? So what you mean is that so long as we can wash our hands from the responsibility of safeguarding the human life ourselves then we are quite happy to don the nurse’s hat and play the hero. Is that it?
Libya no More
Until a few months ago we have seen boatloads of Sudanese, Eritreans and Somalis heading to our country. All we could think of was “Go Away”. When we panicked and when we could not draw the attention of the international community to our plight (hell, despite all efforts the Swedish foreign minister still finds claims of immigration exodus “an exaggeration”) we turned to those who offered an alternative: Muammar Gaddafi’s Iron Fist (with the connivance of Signor Maroni and the EU Commission).
We were happy to turn the boats back to Libya and then like the proverbial monkeys closed our eyes, ears and mouth as to the consequences. They were another people’s problem. So yes. Until a few months ago we bargained with Colonel Gaddafi of the “pills in Nescafe and Al Qaeda in Benghazi”. We asked the man who paid mercenaries to shoot on his own people, his own blood, his own nation to help us solve the illegal immigrant problem.
We trusted a mad man to provide us with a humanitarian solution. He obliged. Later he would come up with the 5 billion euro blackmail as the lives of thousands of persons became subject to a barter with a Europe that was too busy to care.
Still patting yourself on the back?
From OpenDemocracy.org:
EU migration control: made by Gaddafi?
