Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1305625
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 NOVEMBER 2020 INTERVIEW Fair enough, but some of the is- sues are too divisive to ignore. Abortion, for distance. You have publicly identified your- self as 'pro-choice'; yet the PN touts itself as a resolutely 'pro- life' party. How can this differ- ence of opinion be reconciled? Obviously, it's an issue I feel very strongly about, and I've never felt the need to hide the fact that I am pro-choice: not even from the party. I respect their views… even though they are completely in op- position to mine. But when it comes to abortion, the situation in Malta is slightly different, in the sense that… we're tiny; and we also tend to divide ourselves. Personally, I don't be- lieve that society's lines are drawn into such blanket 'pro-life versus pro-choice' terms. The issue is more complex than that. But I also feel that there is so much else to be done, in the sexu- al health department, that there's no need to start with legalizing abortion. There are so many oth- er minor things that we do agree upon: like, for example, better sexual health, and more access for young people. The fact that the GU clinic was closed – or if not 'closed', accepting very few ap- pointments, with waiting lists of over two months, or more – is not acceptable, in a 21st century Euro- pean country. Especially during a pandemic. We already know that the pandemic has had an impact on mental health; just imagine the added anxiety, of having to wait two months to be tested for a pos- sible STD… Nonetheless, the PN has of- ten used the abortion issue to smear rival politicians in the past. Yet it seems to have no problem with the secretary of its own youth section being openly pro-choice. Isn't this a contradiction? And do you get any internal criticism? Has an- yone within the PN ever called you a 'baby-killer', or a 'mur- derer', for your views? [Laughing] No. If anyone called me a murderer, the conversation would have ended there, and I'd have walked away. Because I no longer have the patience for these things. But in my experience, people are very respectful in their disa- greement. In fact, I feel it's almost encouraged: because having dif- ferent opinions makes for a much more interesting discussion, than only ever talking to people who agree with you 100%. I also feel that, ensuring there is a pro-choice perspective – when decisions are made, when policies are discussed – is always impor- tant. I know, for instance, that as secretary-general of MZPN, I'm not going to be the one to intro- duce abortion in Malta… but I al- so know that, having my opinion expressed within the party, we are more likely to talk about, for in- stance, sexual health: a conversa- tion we might otherwise not have had at all. So no, the fact that I have differ- ent views has never been a prob- lem. In fact, I enjoy those conver- sations. You'd be surprised to hear that it is often the least likely, most unthinkable people who will after- wards come up to you and say: 'I see your point, ta…' And when it happens… I feel like I may at least have made a small difference… Turning to another issue that di- vides public opinion: immigra- tion. Under its new leadership, the PN has seemingly softened its rhetoric on the subject; but beyond the change in tone, the perception at street-level remains that neither Labour nor the PN can really offer any long-term solution. What do you think the PN's immigration policy should be? I wouldn't say it's a case that 'neither party can offer solution'; I think that neither party has worked hard enough for a solution yet. There is a lot that still needs to be done. Starting with the way we talk about the subject in public. I don't like to be overly nega- tive… but just yesterday, I watched a show on TVM, featuring an in- terview with Robert Abela. And even just the way he talks about migrants – I find it so… problem- atic. So abhorrent, that he thinks he can say those words on nation- al television; and there are no re- percussions. And then, in the next sentence, he talks about 'xenophobia'… when he himself is the one adding fuel to the fire… But Robert Abela is not the on- ly one talking about immigration in those terms. It wasn't that long ago that a NET TV journal- ist stood outside the 'Bangladesh Food Shop' in Hamrun, rousing ill-feeling towards 'foreigners tak- ing Maltese jobs'… I don't deny that mistakes were made in the past: and I sincere- ly feel that all PN representatives need to be more sensitive about this issue. But by sticking to past examples, we will never be able to move forward. Unless we learn from those mistakes, and at least start trying to move in a different direction, things will never change at all… What direction do you propose? There is a whole lot that still needs to be done. That is an unde- niable fact, at this point. I feel we do need to put more pressure on our MEPs, to continue their strug- gle to get their point across to the European Union as a whole... But the EU has been saying 'No' to a burden-sharing agree- ment for almost 15 years now. Are you suggesting that the PN should just stick to a policy which has clearly failed? [Shrugs] You say 'no' once; you say 'no' twice… but you keep go- ing. You can't just give up. But no, I'm not saying that the approach should not be only that. We also need a proper policy on integra- tion. This is something that has never really been put forward. On the contrary, we have consistently worked in the opposition direc- tion. The reality, however, is that there is nothing we can do, po- litically, to stop asylum seekers from coming here. All we can do is adhere to our international ob- ligations – which we're not doing: as was the case when we migrants were being held on Captain Mor- gan, out at sea, in the winter… while a pandemic was ravaging our island… So while there may be no 'cut- and-dried' solution: there are defi- nitely things you can avoid doing, so as not to exacerbate the situa- tion. You do not add racist senti- ments, to a country that is already being ravaged by xenophobia. Adding fuel to an already blazing fire is not going to benefit anyone. It won't help anyone living in 'hot- spots'; or anyone who cares about immigration as an issue, one way or the other. Still less will it make the problem itself go away. In fact… xenophobia not going to help anyone at all. So while I know it's a lot to ask… though it shouldn't be, in this day and age… I honestly think everyone should just stop being so xenophobic. It has never helped anyone before; and it won't help anyone in the fu- ture, either.