Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1028264
17 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 SEPTEMBER 2018 INTERVIEW sibility to distribute among member states those who have a right to stay and send back those who do not. Europe can- not expect its smallest mem- ber state to shoulder all the responsibility. While the gov- ernment cannot be held re- sponsible for what happens in Africa, it has the responsibility to address the problem of lack of security in Malta... Shouldn't the government guarantee that our villages and towns are safe? Is this racism? The problem is that you link this situation to migration. No, I link it to criminality and government's inability to admit there is a problem that has to be addressed. If we are hav- ing one incident after another, how can we continue investing less money in the police force? The government has a duty to ensure that Maltese and those whom we welcome among us, live in peace and security. I see nothing racist with this. Does it irritate you that migrants open their own shops? Whoever has a legal and le- gitimate right to stay in Malta can, with the necessary per- mits, work, pay taxes and live a normal life. This is only natural. We've had Indians, Serbs, Ital- ians, Swedish people and oth- ers who have been living here for many years. The problems are only surfacing now because the government has abdicated its responsibility to ensure our communities are safe. Our po- lice officers are doing all they can with the limited resources they are given. You have repeatedly expressed fear that Malta is losing its Catholic identity. You have on occasions tied this to the influx of foreigners. Who is threatening Malta's identity? What is worrying you? I am not scared. What I am saying is that we should not feel uncomfortable to pronounce what makes us Maltese. Last Sunday the reference you made to identity was linked to migration, so much so that you were rebuked by several human rights groups. It transpires that 80% of those groups that came out criticising what I said did not even hear my speech. LGBTIQ groups came out criticising what I said when I made absolutely no ref- erence to LGBTIQ issues. I was accused of incitement and be- ing in breach of the Constitu- tion. Can anyone tell me where I incited people to breach hu- man rights? Should we forget the fundamental human right to be safe in our country? But a discourse which implies migration is a threat to identity risks categorising a section of people. I did not speak of fear but of pride. Let us not feel uncom- fortable saying that we are Mal- tese. Let us not be scared to say who we are. Being proud of who we are is not a problem but some things you mention are changing because the Maltese want to. In 2011 divorce became a reality in Malta because the Maltese voted for it, not because of foreigners. For some, divorce changed Malta's traditional family set up. I am not passing judgement on what is right or wrong. I am not tied to the past. As a politi- cian, I have a duty to instigate a debate. I have a duty to ask whether we are prepared to accept an influx of foreigners in such a short period. Do we know what the consequences may be? Do we know where they will stay? Will the infra- structure cope? Is our soci- ety changing in a way that we want it to? I am not saying that we should stop change but we have to think about it and study it. In your first mass meeting speech during last year's Independence Day celebration, you used the words 'Catholic and Latin'. Is the PN a party for Catholics? The party hymn states so. To- day, the wider interpretation of Catholicism and Christianity includes the notion of toler- ance. This means being open to others without imposing your beliefs. There are other reli- gions and cults that are intol- erant. I am open to everyone. There are others [religions] that are invasive and do not tolerate other beliefs. If the Muslim community in Malta wants to build another mosque, will you be against? The last I heard from the Mus- lim community on this matter was that they could not build a new mosque because they had no money and expected the government to foot the bill. They then wanted to attend State schools and learn their religion. These are very sensi- tive issues. I acknowledge that society is changing in a fast way but we need to hear what peo- ple say. There is no one single Islamic denomination. Will it be a Sunni or a Shiite mosque? Will it belong to extremists or moderates? Will it belong to those who are tolerant or to those who preach terrorism? We have to think about it. On divorce, will Adrian Delia the prime minister remove or change the law? No. Last year Malta introduced full marriage equality, which meant gay couples could get married. Will you as prime minister rescind that law? No. There were people inside the PN against that law. In my view, a marriage con- tract is a bilateral agreement, which the couple enter into consensually and which they can also decide to terminate. I consider that to be part of the civil realm and not the realm of religion or morality. Gay couples can now adopt children. Will you change that? They always were able to do so. Our adoption law already allowed this. The parameters were the minimum and maxi- mum age and the difference in age between the adopter and the adoptee. Is the PN comfortable with adoption of children by gay couples? You are asking Adrian Delia. But you are also leader of the PN. This is an issue of the past and so I have never held a debate on it. If new issues crop up, I will hold a debate within the parliamentary group. I cannot answer for the others. You are asking me and I am being clear. MaltaToday's monthly trust barometer not only shows you lagging far behind the Prime Minister but, more crucially for you, is the fact that you have not yet won over the trust of people who voted PN in the last election. There appears to be strong resistance among PN sympathisers. Why? I was a newcomer to poli- tics and many who voted for me [to become PN leader] did not know me. They voted me in because they wanted things to be done radically different- ly. As things stand, there are those who believe I am doing too much and others who feel I have not done enough. The process [of change] is ongoing. The PN spent 25 years in gov- ernment and five years in Op- position and we have been los- ing votes from one election to another. This is not a problem I created. Isn't it worrying that you have failed to make an impact with PN voters? I do not worry. I try to under- stand and interpret the surveys. We have to open our ears, eyes and hearts to feel the pain and our minds to be open to new ideas – not all of them. We have to stop believing we have a right to be in government. We have to persuade people. We have to be able to applaud the government when it does good and believe that we can do better. We have to fight corruption but we also have to fight hate. We have to become a people's party in a caring so- ciety and in four years' time present a set of ideas for radical change. You have an electoral appointment in May next year. What is your aim for the MEP election? The MEP election will be the training ground. My aim is to attract people to contest with the PN, which will show people that the party is changing. Next Thursday the Planning Authority board will meet to discuss the permit application filed by the db Group for its project in St George's Bay. How will the PN representative vote? You have to ask her [Mar- these Portelli], not me. The di- rection I gave the party is that any decision should be taken on the basis of whether the development satisfies existing policies, irrespective of who is behind it. If there are short- comings in policy terms, she [the PN representative] should vote against. Do you know how Marthese Portelli will vote? I leave people free to make their own decisions and this in- cludes local councillors. Karol Aquilina and Simon Busuttil attended a protest by Pembroke residents against the db project. We don't know how Marthese Portelli will vote. You met with the developers. Is the PN trying to be everything to everyone on this issue? Absolutely not. Karol Aqui- lina was elected from the dis- trict and has a duty to listen to his constituents and voice their concerns. Marthese Portelli's duty is to study the regulations, understand what the project is and vote according to existing legislation. Where do you stand? I did not delve into the details of this particular project. I have not studied it. I will not be vot- ing on it and will not be telling Marthese Portelli how to vote. Would you have preferred it if Simon Busuttil resigned from Parliament? I never thought about it. Nor- mally, every club president, party leader or group leader, leaves when resigning his post. Simon chose otherwise. I in- vited and asked Simon to tell me how best he could contrib- ute to the party. I told him he still had a lot to contribute to politics. If Simon Busuttil finds ways of helping the PN to win more votes that will be a good thing. If not, then I believe his place is not within the PN. questions WATCH the full interview on maltatoday.com.mt PHOTO JAMES BIANCHI