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Malta Cautiously Tilts West
| Article
# : |
11887 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1987 |
1,628 Words |
| Author
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Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith, an expert on Maltese politics and economics, is
the author of "Malta: from NATO Base to Libyan Outpost",
published in Global Affairs (Fall 1986). |
The May 9 election in Malta brought about a change of government that is crucial for the Mediterranean island republic and for the geopolitical balance of power in the region. The island's pro-Western Nationalist Party polled 51 percent of the nationwide vote and ousted the pro-Libyan Socialist Party which had been in office for 16 years. During this period, the country's political and military ties to the West had been gradually loosened in the name of neutrality and non-alignment. At the same time, the Socialists had signed a Soviet-style treaty of friendship and cooperation with Libya, a treaty with North Korea meant to be secret that provided for North Korean arms and training for the Maltese security forces, and a treaty with the Soviet Union that envisaged the coordination of the two countries' positions in times of crisis.
Upon his election, the new prime minister, Eddie Fenech Adami, a 53-year-old lawyer, explained that his government's foreign policy marked a significant break with that of his predecessors. The Nationalists' main objective is to seek the right conditions for Malta's full membership in the European Community, the 12-nation economic grouping of Western European states. Malta already conducts 70 percent of its import and export trade and more than 90 percent of its tourist trade with the EC. The EC also accounts for the largest segment of foreign investment on the island. Full membership in the EC will multiply Malta's institutional links with Western Europe and make difficult its sliding back to a position of anti-Western "nonalignment" should the Socialists ever be returned to power.
While Adami is committed to Malta's neutrality, he realizes that the island cannot ensure its own defense in a hostile
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