WATCH: ‘I Should’ve Seen The Sign Of The Times’, Says Malta’s Former PM Gonzi On Divorce
Malta’s former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has admitted he should have “seen the sign of the times more clearly” when divorce legislation was thrust onto the national agenda back in 2010. He also conceded that the introduction of divorce was a positive thing.
Gonzi was interviewed by Alex Salmond, who served as Scotland’s first minister between 2007 and 2014. The interview featured on the first of a three-part series on the Alex Salmond Show examining the rise of Malta, entitled The Maltese Marvel.
Salmond, who is currently awaiting trial on attempted rape and sexual harassment charges which he strongly denies, shares Gonzi’s experience of having lost a referendum, in his case the Scottish independence referendum.
Asked by Salmond if social change in Malta was triggered by economic progress and Malta’s entry into the European Union, Gonzi said: “I think it (divorce legislation) would have happened in any case. I think today social media, and all that, has opened up any country, including Malta, to the rest of the world. So anybody, especially the younger generation, are following closely what is happening out there and that has become the benchmark of quality of life, of our values, of our way of life.”
“It’s not a bad thing it’s actually a good thing. The European Union experience possibly encouraged all of this. It gave it a context. It encouraged people to speak out, to move out of the conservative, traditional module we had for a long number of years.”
“In fact, I, myself, today look back and think I should have seen of the times more clearly. Even my party should have seen the sign of the times more clearly. We did not and perhaps it’s one of the failures, but you know the benefit of hindsight is a fairytale.”
Gonzi went on to say that those who adopted conservative policies in the past, based on values they strongly believed in, had to adjust to change and “that did not happen fast enough”.
The former Prime Minister recalled that his biggest objection to divorce was that it was thrust on the national agenda by then PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando without either political party having proposed it.
“But coming back, has it been a positive experience for the island? On balance, yes. Divorce would have come to the island at some point in time. It had to happen. It happened in the way it did, our society had to adjust to it, our society has adjusted to it in a manner which is quite good.”
Gonzi said there were of course social impacts and changes at a family level.
“We are living in an era where change is happening so fast and there’s no way we can stop it, we just have to adapt very quickly,” he concluded.
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