Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1000343
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 JULY 2018 JAMES DEBONO THE answer to the question on why Muscat changed his mind and opened Malta's border to 230 migrants on the Lifeline boat has a lot to do with the changing European landscape and Muscat's own aspiration to act as a player on the international stage. The new political reality in Europe, where Muscat wants to leave a mark, is charac- terised by the ascendency of populist anti-immigrant par- ties which are now in govern- ment coalitions in Italy, Aus- tria, Hungary and Poland. The latter two form part of the Visegrad Group of na- tions which opposes any no- tion of burden sharing. This group also includes the Czech Republic and Slovakia. As expected, despite their ideological affinity to Italy's new populist government, none of these nations offered any help to Malta and Italy by sharing responsibility over migrants stranded for a week on the Lifeline boat. It was pro-EU centrist or socialist governments which mainly joined the ad hoc "co- alition of the willing". Nor- way, which is not even an EU member state, has also joined. Although he has only been in power for five years, Joseph Muscat has seen the political landscape change dramati- cally. Gone are friends like former Italian PM, Matteo Renzi, and former French President, Francois Hollande. Only four other EU countries are led by members of the European So- cialists. Britain is now on the verge of leaving the EU while its Labour Party has veered towards the far left, burying the new Labour legacy cher- ished by Muscat. The other political power house; the European People's Party, is increasingly divided in their approach to migra- tion between isolationists like Hungarian strongman Victor Orban and Austria Chancel- lor, Sebastian Kurtz, and cos- mopolitans like Ireland's Leo Varadkar. Angela Merkel, whose gov- ernment coalition is now en- dangered by the misgivings of the Christian Social Union (the CDU's sister party in Ba- varia) over Merkel's accept- ance of thousands of refugees from Syria in 2015, cannot provide leadership at this sen- sitive juncture. But the emergence of a 'coa- lition of the willing' triggered by the Lifeline incident may yet trigger a new alignment of countries who are ready to share the migration burden. The ad hoc coalition in- cludes not just left-wing gov- ernments in Portugal and Spain but a pro-European lib- eral centre-ground, best rep- resented by Emmanuel Ma- cron's France and Ireland's Leo Varadkar together. The fact that France, Por- tugal, Spain, Ireland, Bel- gium and Luxembourg have accepted an invitation also poses a dilemma to the new Italian government. Such a decision puts Salvini in a quandary; is Italy best served by the likes of Orban or Kurtz and others who are only interested in closing their borders or by the 'coali- tion of the willing', which has concretely shown solidar- ity in action? Antonio Conte may well be lured away from Salvini's embrace if other Eu- ropean countries take con- crete action. The Italians are right to question Macron's consist- ency. For while the French Presi- dent has rushed to rebuke Salvini's intransigence, France continues to send migrants who moved from Italy to France, back to Italy, strictly abiding by the Dublin regulations which both Malta and Italy question. Yet, despite the EU's inertia and inconsistencies on this thorny issue, Muscat seems bent on seeking a European solution. Upon being elected in 2013 Muscat had flirted with a pop- ulist approach to the migra- NEWS Recruitment of Casual Substitutes in Dentistry The Ministry for Health is seeking to employ Dental Surgery Assistants as Casual Substitutes on a definite basis (Jobsplus Permit Number: 254/2018). Eligible applicants must be in possession of: 1. An MCAST Diploma (MQF Level 4) for Dental Surgery Assistants 2. Or other appropriate comparable qualification from a recognised institution. A copy of the full job description and details of the remuneration package may be obtained from the Resourcing and Employee Relations Directorate (contact details below). Applicants are to submit their application together with a detailed curriculum vitae and a recent (not earlier than one month) Police Certificate of Conduct by not later than Friday, 15 th July 2018. 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ASSET RECOVERY BUREAU M A L T A BRAND GUIDELINE Colours Typography Athelas a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Athelas - Regular Athelas - Bold Athelas - Bold Italic Font Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non <>;501:@ ?A:@5:/A8<-=A5;ő/5-01?1>A:@9;885@-:59501?@ laborum. Athelas - Regular CMYK C 0 M 90 Y 100 K 0 C 70 M 66 Y 55 K 48 PANTONE PMS 2347 U PMS 419 U ASSET RECOVERY BUREAU M A L T A ASSET RECOVERY BUREAU M A L T A In an interview on One Radio on Sunday, Muscat adopted the legalistic argument to defend his government's position not to take in the migrants' boat. Yet five days later he accepted to take the migrants after brokering an ad hoc agreement between nine European nations. Why did he have a change of heart? Why Muscat changed tack and