Malta has a national security committee and the Opposition Leader, Bernard Grech is a member of this committee. Politically in the last twenty-seven years or so, both political parties collaborated on matters of national security and had common foreign policies that tied accordingly with national security. An excellent example of this collaboration has been the support provided to Libya’s revolutionaries during the Libyan revolution in 2011.
This kind of collaboration was possible thanks to an Opposition that did not abuse matters of security and defense for political purposes – nowadays, we have a government doing the opposite and is breaking this unwritten agreement between political parties. This has already been discussed.
Matters about security and defence should not be politicised in a cheap electoral manner because they are related to our national interest. This should be obvious to anyone who is in politics and whoever egoistically uses these matters for cheap political points is compromising our essential security framework and arrangements – this framework should be developed and strengthened with both political parties agreeing to ramp up our defenses, national security, and being actively part of EU defensive initiatives. These are matters that are related to our national security.
A Prime Minister who speaks on these matters as if he is in a ka?in is grossly irresponsible, wreckless, and, can even endanger lives, especially the lives of security and defence personnel who live abroad. On the other hand, these matters are essential for our security and the public must informed of the current risks in a responsible manner. Robert Abela doesn’t have the leadership acumen to understand this: he’s on a joyride and behaves like an infant apart from being a low-life criminal.
Both the armed forces and the security services require beefing up in these times of increased risks and this is not an option based on ideological preferences, but simply a reality that we have to inevitably face. Currently, our armed forces are incapable of protecting our maritime borders while on the other hand, the Malta Security Services under Labour has been turned into an insignificant political branch of the Office of the Prime Minister. The National Security Committee meets only once a year and nothing noteworthy is being discussed – any investigations and operations the security services have are coordinated with foreign agencies which are mostly based on migration and counter-terrorism and the MSS is unable to conduct proper and sophisticated investigations andoperations by itself. This is not a political issue. Having a non-political security service that monitors and counters foreign risks is essential during these times – it doesn’t matter whether you believe in peace, neutrality, and whatnot. This is not something that is to be decided upon personal opinions or political conveniences.
Defence spending is not “wasted spending”, either: it creates jobs and provides an essential service, which is security. Malta, like any other country, has its own security risks which should be addressed and, to address these risks, you need a common ground between political parties and support for the defence and security sectors. What Robert Abela is doing with his cheap political stunts is basically admitting that he can never be trusted with serious matters of security and defence.
Can you imagine if we have a crisis whilst this buffon is Prime Minister? It’s the equivalent of having a teenage delinquent in control of the defence apparatus that is supposed to protect you.
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Historian and Publisher
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