Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1070939
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JANUARY 2019 NEWS IT was truly an earthquake that shook Malta in 2011 when a divorce referendum, borne of the revolt of a Nationalist MP, triggered the start of a civil liberties wave. Since then, the country once deemed a 'bul- wark of Catholicism' has given way to laws allowing gay mar- riage, gay adoption, reversed its anachronistic IVF legisla- tion, introduced far-reaching rights on gender identity and trans people, and has even spo- ken freely about abortion and euthanasia. But beneath the general con- sensus on Malta's liberal turn, an opposition remains vocal and hopeful that those so called "values" of the Malta they once knew, remain a constant in the political agenda. One such person is Edwin Vassallo, a Na- tionalist MP who was a former minister in the Fenech Adami administrations, but recently made his name for his opposi- tion to the PN's own tentative at loosening its conservative shackles. "The Nationalist Party under the leadership of Adrian De- lia is once again turning to its roots and core Catholic values, and this will only make the par- ty stronger at a time when un- bridled liberalism was leading the country into moral decay and social apathy," he claims, in an interview that predates allegations of domestic vio- lence against Delia by his es- tranged wife, in a bitter marital separation case. Edwin Vassallo, now making his mark as an outspoken critic of "pseudo-liberal" policies which he says "diminish man's dignity", told MaltaToday that for many years, even under for- mer PN leaders Simon Busuttil and Lawrence Gonzi, the PN had let itself be guided away from its principles in an effort to appease a broader electoral spectrum. "It is only since Delia took the reigns that the party has once again started to safeguard its identity," he said. "I strongly believe that the more the PN sticks to identity and core val- ues, the better it will fare. It is imperative that the party re- vert to its roots – and stick to them – come what may." Vassallo may be a voice in the wilderness of the PN's backbench, but he is not alone in the number of politicians and critics outside the politi- cal arena, who have taken up Christian values in the fight against what they perceive is the 'moral decay' of liberal thinking brought on by the current administration. The first signs of the movement were actually seen in the campaign on divorce – fringe Catholic nostalgics from the Maltese Catholic Church's own branches, Catholic fra- ternities and prayer groups sounding out their warnings; but this rumble of religious opposition picked up some form of momentum with the broadening of gender rights, gay marriage and IVF under the current regime – most no- tably with pro-life organisa- tion Life Network protesting outside the House of Repre- sentatives together with evan- gelical preacher Gordon John Manché, the layman's organi- sation Catholic Voices Net- work, and other fringe groups. In his first ever speech after becoming leader of the Na- tionalist Party in September 2017, Adrian Delia made an impassioned call to arms to Catholics, harping on the par- ty's anachronistic anthem that calls upon God's protection in the fight towards victory for 'Catholics and Latins'. Tonio Fenech, a former Na- tionalist minister and now one of the founders of Catho- lic Voices, left politics quietly but not without sending Simon Busuttil a missive taking him to task for selling out on the Christian vote. "I assure you that the less colourful silent 'Catholic/Christian' vote is far more influential voting wise the any other lobby, the only difference is that to date is not yet been mobilized effectively as happens in other countries, because to date these people did not feel the need for such a mobilization as they found a home in the PN. This is where I would like these people to re- main," he had told Busuttil in 2017. Today, Fenech, insists that people are yearning for a re- ligious message and that they are flocking to those who dem- onstrate Christian values in For God and country Malta's liberal turn since the divorce referendum has dead-legged what was once believed to be an inf luential Catholic vote. PAUL COCKS speaks to those who claim the religious voice has to be better marshalled in Maltese politics Expressions of Interest: Invitation to submit Proposals for the Lease of Properties in Gozo The Director General (Operations) within the Ministry for Gozo notifies that sealed expressions of interest marked: EOI/A0119 - Expression of Interest: Invitation to submit Proposals for the Lease of Property in Gozo will be received in the tender box, at the Procurement Unit at the Ministry for Gozo, St. Francis Square, Victoria, Gozo, by not later than 10.00 a.m. of Friday 8 th February 2019. Interested parties may either download a copy of the Expression of Interest documents from the Ministry for Gozo website mgoz.gov.mt or request a copy by sending an email to procurement.mgoz@gov.mt. Former PN minister and spokesperson for Catholic Voices Malta, Tonio Fenech: "Any politician or movement that tries to steer Malta away from our fundamental religious values will not last long."