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History and Government
History: Malta’s situation in the central Mediterranean has made it an important strategic base since the earliest days of navigation. The first civilisation to leave any significant remains flourished in the third millennium BC, building many megalithic temples. Later the island was occupied by the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians and the Romans. Christianity arrived early, in about AD 60, when St Paul was shipwrecked off the coast, and the religion rapidly established itself. On the partition of the Roman Empire, Malta passed under the control of Constantinople. Arab attacks during the eighth and ninth centuries culminated in the surrender of the islands to the governor of Muslim Sicily in 870, but subsequently the Normans reconquered Sicily, and Malta passed back to Christian control in 1090.
The Norman rule of the 12th century witnessed a great expansion of trade and a flowering of the arts and sciences, reflecting the splendours of Sicily itself, but the death of the last Hautville king in 1194 ushered in a period of confusion. Prosperity alternated with internal chaos for the rest of the Middle Ages, as the island repeatedly became caught up in the great dynastic struggles of the Mediterranean. The Hohenstaufer (mainly Frederick II), the Angevins, the Aragonnese, the Venetians, the Genoese, the Papacy, the kings of France and the Arabs – all, at various times, attempted to gain control of Malta. Political stability did not return until the 16th century, when Malta, together with Sicily, became part of the vast empire of Charles V, who in 1530, recognised the strategic value of the islands for Christendom, by granting them to the Knights of St John.
For the next 250 years Malta was a bulwark against Turkish ambitions in Europe, notably in 1565 when, against overwhelming odds, the island was successfully defended. Napoleon briefly held Malta in the last three years of the 18th century, but a British-backed rebellion forced him to retreat and the British ruled for the next 181 years. The most famous episode in Malta's recent history was the heroic defence of the island during World War II for which the nation was awarded the George Cross. In 1956 a referendum came down heavily in favour of full integration with Britain, a policy then backed by the governing Maltese Labour Party (MLP) under Dom Mintoff. Successive rounds of talks failed, and by 1961 independence was sought by both the major political parties, the other being the conservative Nationalist Party then led by Dr Borg Olivier.
Independence was achieved in 1964, and Dr Borg Olivier became Prime Minister. Mintoff’s MLP won the 1971 elections and began to pursue a policy of neutrality, reaching treaties with Libya, Italy and the then USSR, amongst other states. In 1979 the British military base was closed. In May 1987, 16 years of MLP rule came to an end and Dr Edward Fenech Adami of the Nationalist Party (NP) became Prime Minister. Close contacts with Libya were maintained, and relationships with Western governments have improved. The centre-right government had followed the general European pattern of liberalising the economy. The nationalists improved on their previous performance at the election held in February 1992 and were returned with an increased majority.
The major political issue of late has been Malta’s application to join the European Union. Domestic opposition to the latter has been led by the MLP, which claims that EU agricultural policies will increase the cost of living, and also undermine its traditionally neutral foreign policy. In September 1996, the Fenech-Adami Government, pursuing its mandate of full EU membership, called a general election. This led to an unexpected victory of the MLP at the polls and the appointment of a new Government was formed by the MLP’s Dr Alfred Sant, who immediately announced that EU membership was no longer a future goal.
The Sant government planned that Malta’s association agreement with the EU (signed in 1970 as an essential initial step towards full membership) was to be converted into a ‘free trade zone’ between Malta and the EU. Also scrapped was Malta’s participation in the NATO ‘Partnership for Peace’ programme, under which non-members of NATO could align themselves with that organisation. In September 1998, however, a split within the MLP forced a snap general election at which the NP was returned to power. Fenech-Adami announced that EU membership was government policy once again and, within months, Malta’s suspended application was re-submitted. The accession negotiations proceeded smoothly and, having met most of the entrance criteria, Malta is now expected to join along with nine other countries (mostly from eastern and central Europe) in 2004.
Government: Malta’s head of state is president, a largely ceremonial post. Executive power is held by the Cabinet which is chosen from the unicameral legislature, il Kamara tad Deputati (House of Representatives). The assembly has 65 members elected every five years in multi-seat constituencies.
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