A "prudent" trip to Libya

Joseph Muscat, who had told us that Malta should be "prudent" and "not take sides" during the Libyan crisis, recently visited the National Transitional Council in Libya. "We elevated Malta's reputation", we were told. It is more likely that the aim of the visit was rather to restore his reputation with the Libyans, considering he was one of the few, if not the only, Opposition Leader in Europe to criticize the government for "not being prudent" and condemning Gaddafi, even if this happened after the adoption of a UN resolution which allowed member states to use "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians.

Yes, this visit was necessary because he needed to apologize for having insisted that we should "not take sides but assist the fighters", never specifying which fighters we were meant to assist (maybe the ones shelling hospitals and bombing civilians?), two weeks after the adoption of the UN resolution. (Because we have to be "neutral" you see, and for some that means closing our eyes to anything happening around us).

He needed to apologize for the editorial on Maltastar (Labour's official news site) which had criticized Gonzi "for rushing to say Gaddafi should step down."

And probably, he also needed to apologize on behalf of George Vella who till last September was still criticizing Gonzi for having made a declaration condemning Gaddafi without, according to him, "having considered enough the business interests Malta held." (Because of course, business interests come before human rights.) In any case, business interests have improved considerably thanks also to the government's clear stand in assisting the NTC, co-ordinating humanitarian assistance, and condemning Gaddafi's regime.

But we all know that Labour's consistent position under Muscat is to sit on the fence and be "prudent" about everything. And we are slowly understanding what "prudent" means: something like promising the issuing of permits to developers while telling environmentalists that the same permits will not be issued.

Prudence: first it was fear of losing some friends just in case they stay in power, now it is fear of losing some votes if we happen to take some clear stands.

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