Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1001069
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 JULY 2018 6 NEWS ANALYSIS JOSEPH Muscat was well aware that his change of heart on taking 230 migrants stranded on the Lifeline boat was not well received by a sig- nificant portion of the elector- ate which he actively nurtured in the past. In a balancing act he joined Salvini's Italy in refusing entry to NGO rescue ships while the police arraigned the captain of the Lifeline on ship registra- tion charges. Muscat had just scored an in- ternational success after forg- ing a coalition of nine willing European nations to take re- sponsibility for migrants res- cued by the Lifeline. In so doing he appeared closer to the position taken by French President Emmanuel Macron who is portraying himself as the anti-populist Europeanist. Yet to do so he had to allow entrance to the boat in Maltese ports. Then again, this mod- est achievement was not matched by any progress in an EU summit, which failed to impose any mandatory burden sharing. It was a sum- mit marked by the intran- sigence of the Visegrad na- tions, Germany's inability to provide leadership as Merkel was busy patching up with her rightwing CSU allies, and a very weak Italian Prime Minister who clearly does not call the shots on an issue where Matteo Salvini's Lega Nord is hegemonic. Muscat knows that there are limits to what can be achieved on a Eu- ropean level. Therefore, Muscat had to send a very clear message to voters, both within his party and those he could potentially win from the Opposition, that he remains a strongman poli- tician. Moreover, he also knows that in a political debate dom- inated by migration issues, he is bound to sow more divi- sions within the Opposition, where Delia's drift to the right is not seen positively by more liberal PN voters. The front pages of newspa- pers owned by the two ma- jor Maltese parties clearly expose the quandary. On its front page, Labour weekly Kullhadd announced that the Lifeline Captain Claus Peter Reisch, was to be arraigned in court. Although the ship Captain was later arraigned on ship registration charges, Kull- hadd lead article blamed the ship Captain for "creating the crisis" by ignoring the Ital- ian coastguard's orders not to rescue the migrants and allow the Libyan coast guard to do this job. NGOs engaged in the res- cue of migrants were also the focus of a radio interview in which Muscat announced, "until things are clarified, we were forced to close our ports to all NGO-run ships. And we also cannot let any NGO ships currently in Malta to leave our ports." While Muscat may enjoy the European limelight as Ma- cron's ally against Salvini, he is full square with the Italian far-right in blaming NGOs for the current crisis. Yet in this case he has been granted a veneer of legitimacy by citing the call by the Euro- pean Council of Ministers on all ships working in the Medi- terranean to allow the Libyan coast guard do its job. It was not just the Lifeline boat, which was impound- ed, but a boat owned by Sea Watch was also prevented from sailing away from Malta. Yet while Malta and Italy pro- ceeded to blockade their ports to NGOs, other EU members like Spain have not. Blame it on…Renzi? On the other side of the Ru- bicon, the Nationalist weekly Mument blamed the latest crisis on the "secret deal" between Matteo Renzi and Muscat through which Italy accepted to take migrants rescued in Malta's search and rescue for creating tension be- tween the two countries. The story is based on a mis- taken premise because the ar- rangement dates back to 2013 when Enrico Letta was Prime Minister who in the after- math of the Lampedusa trag- edy, which saw 350 migrants, drown, embarked on opera- tion Mare Nostrum, through which his country assumed leadership over search and rescue operations. It was in this context and probably to avoid pointless stand offs with tiny Malta while Italy was dealing with a humanitarian emergency, that the Italians started tak- ing Malta's share of migrants. The arrangement between the two countries was renewed by Matteo Renzi and Paolo Gen- tiloni. It was the EU which failed to create a robust alternative to Mare Nostrum, thus creat- ing a situation where Deciphering Muscat's Janus-faced While Delia has supported Muscat's official line in the latest standoffs with Italy, he was ambivalent on Muscat's decision to accept the 230 Lifeline migrants and has not stated his position on Muscat's decision to blockade JAMES DEBONO JAMES DEBONO was later arraigned on ship registration charges, Kull- hadd lead article blamed the ship Captain for "creating the crisis" by ignoring the Ital- ian coastguard's orders not to rescue the migrants and allow the Libyan coast guard to do this job. NGOs engaged in the res- cue of migrants were also the focus of a radio interview in which Muscat announced, "until things are clarified, we were forced to close our ports to all NGO-run ships. And we also cannot let any NGO ships currently in Malta to leave our ports." While Muscat may enjoy the European limelight as Ma- cron's ally against Salvini, he is full square with the Italian far-right in blaming NGOs for the current crisis. Yet in this case he has been granted a veneer of legitimacy by citing the call by the Euro- pean Council of Ministers on all ships working in the Medi- terranean to allow the Libyan coast guard do its job. It was not just the Lifeline boat, which was impound- ed, but a boat owned by Sea Watch was also prevented from sailing away from Malta. Yet while Malta and Italy pro- ceeded to blockade their ports to NGOs, other EU members like Spain have not. Blame it on…Renzi? On the other side of the Ru- bicon, the Nationalist weekly Mument blamed the latest crisis on the "secret deal" between Matteo Renzi and Muscat through which Italy accepted to take migrants rescued in Malta's search and rescue for creating tension be- tween the two countries. The story is based on a mis- taken premise because the ar- rangement dates back to 2013 when Enrico Letta was Prime Minister who in the after- math of the Lampedusa trag- edy, which saw 350 migrants, drown, embarked on opera- tion Mare Nostrum, through which his country assumed leadership over search and rescue operations. It was in this context and probably to avoid pointless stand offs with tiny Malta while Italy was dealing with a humanitarian emergency, that the Italians started tak- ing Malta's share of migrants. The arrangement between the two countries was renewed by Matteo Renzi and Paolo Gen- tiloni. It was the EU which failed to create a robust alternative to Mare Nostrum, thus creat- ing a situation where Deciphering Muscat's Janus-faced While Delia has supported Muscat's official line in the latest standoffs with Italy, he was ambivalent on Muscat's decision to accept the 230 Lifeline migrants and has not stated his position