Friday, April 08, 2011

Malta faces divorce referendum

The people of Malta are to decide whether to legalise divorce next month in what promises to be a highly divisive referendum in the staunchly Catholic island.

The country’s parliament voted by a 36-33 margin to hold the referendum which will offer voters the option of divorce for couples who are separated for four years, where there is no prospect of reconciliation and where adequate maintenance is guaranteed and children protected.

The arrangement proposed in the private members’ Bill, which was sponsored by one government and one opposition MP, mirrors the Irish law.  

But while the Irish referendum was held in the context of a constitutional ban on divorce, the Maltese referendum is being held because Parliament decided that it had no mandate to introduce divorce and because of the issue’s “historical and significant impact.”

The outcome of the May 28 referendum will not be binding, however, as MPs will still be free to vote in favour or against the proposed legislation.  

In general, most members of the governing National Party oppose divorce, while most of the main opposition Labour Party back it but the stance of many MPs on all sides is ambiguous.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi voted against the Bill, while opposition leader Joseph Muscat backed it.  Dr Gonzi said he had “full faith in the Maltese public” but added that he would “respect fully the decision of our public.”

Pro-divorce campaigners cite estimates that, within four years, 17% of marriages in Malta will have broken down and the 160% rise in legal separations in the past decade in their argument for change.

The Church has said it will not crusade against divorce but that Catholic politicians are duty bound to vote against its introduction.  

Archbishop Paul Cremona said that the Church was called to love but “believers should be free to argue and discuss, otherwise we wouldn’t be living in a pluralistic society.”

“It’s important that people hear a lot of voices, including ours,” Mgr Cremona said.

Like most Maltese general elections and its referendum on joining the EU, the divorce poll is likely to be divisive and decided by a narrow margin either way.