Labour isolates Malta, again - Kevin Cassar

The US Secretary of State sent his President an urgent telegram. “With regard to the European security conference, the main problem is the obstruction by Malta. The Russians tried to enlist our support for some strong-arm tactics to isolate Malta”.

This was 1975 and Labour managed to antagonise two superpowers, the US and the USSR, and another 32 countries. Mintoff was playing the prima donna and holding everybody to ransom. He won only isolation for Malta.

Four decades later Labour again humiliated and isolated Malta. In the wake of Russian atrocities in the Ukraine, Europe was enraged. Tone-deaf Labour failed to sense the wrath of its allies. At the European Parliament, Labour’s four MEPs voted to retain golden passports. They were on their own. Out of 681 MEPs, only eight others joined them. Not a single MEP from Labour’s Socialists and Democrats was on their side. Abandoned even by their allies, Labour disgraced our country, our name.

At 7pm of July 10, 1975, the Finnish foreign minister called Mintoff from Geneva where 35 countries were meeting at the CSCE conference. Mintoff reassured the Finn he would not create problems. All 34 nations agreed to meet in Helsinki on July 30.