Opinion: Is There More To Abela’s Foreign Policy Than Pretending To Oppose Metsola?
After spending the past few days warning that the EU has got its Ukraine strategy wrong, Robert Abela has backtracked and voted in favour of that very same strategy.
He could have followed Hungary’s Viktor Orbán in blocking the text but instead he joined the vast majority of EU member states leaders in endorsing it.
So what exactly is Abela’s position?
Abela’s stance a few days ago seemed crystal clear – Ukraine has made no progress in the past three years, victory over Russia is a lost cause, and the EU should stop financing it militarily now that the US has suspended military aid.
Supporters of Abela turned their guns on Roberta Metsola, with PL MP Rosianne Cutajar labelling the European Parliament President as the “queen of war”.
And yet the text Abela endorsed is exactly what Metsola has been speaking about in recent days.
Peace through strength, the importance of security guarantees for Ukraine in a future peace deal, and respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
It’s a very complex issue and I don’t want to act as though I have the answers. On the one hand, the EU is right to position itself as a strong, independent player and not a US lapdog, but on the other hand there is a serious risk that the people of Europe will get antsy if they feel the EU is prioritising a war that seems to be going nowhere over their own daily interests.
But Malta is an active player in the EU, and if it wants to push forward a particular foreign policy, it has the same power to do so as France, Germany and Hungary. The problem is how these policies are being portrayed to the people.
Malta’s official foreign policy aligns with the EU’s stance, which wants to strengthen its defences and continue military funding for Ukraine while upholding the country’s neutrality. There is no difference in Brussels between Abela’s position and Metsola’s.
This isn’t a one-off either. Abela has consistently agreed with EU proposals for more defence investment and military support for Ukraine.
And yet you hear none of that locally. Here it is all about ripping into the EU, and Metsola in particular, accusing her of warmongering and hoping that people won’t realise her position is also the government’s position.
It’s an attempt to play both sides – consistently siding with the EU and Metsola in Brussels, without being vocal about it, but then using those same policies to attack a political rival. To be clear, it’s fine if Abela has a different foreign policy than Metsola, but if so he should push forward that policy where it matters.
But this is just a game of smoke and mirrors. It doesn’t sound like an actual foreign policy and Abela isn’t actually challenging the EU’s Ukraine strategy. It is just an attempt of political one-upmanship.
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