Christmas is, for me, the best time of the year.
It is not the presents or the glittering lights. It is the better and easier human relationship, interaction and bonding that takes place at this time, of which the presents and the glittering lights are a manifestation.
It is the reminder of walking down the streets of Qormi, in the traditional and now folkloristic procession of Baby Jesus organised by the MUSEUM branch in the parish, singing carols to the tune of the accordion, and then gathering to hear one of our young colleagues deliver a sermon which he would have painstakingly learnt by heart over the past four months. I have been up that road myself, experiencing the stage fright as I was led up to the pulpit to face a church full of expectant faces. My first public address at the age of seven.
It is the reminder of a very modest family gathering around the table expecting the best treat of the year. It is the reminder of smiling faces, stripped of the tense expressions caused by a year of hard living, wishing each other happiness and extending to all around them the warmth that would be filling their hearts.
I wish you, dear reader, a happy Christmas.

Consensus
We have been hearing a call for consensus in how Malta manages its foreign policy. A worthy thought in this Christmas period.
This is an objective to which politicians should aspire.
Consensus is a mature way of running a democracy. It contrasts with the winner takes all attitude that reigns in our election-driven system which normally translates into a dictatorship of the majority for a period of time.
A democracy that practices consensus will minimise the factional dominance and reaction among different groupings and will ensure that the decisions that are taken are representative of the entire society.

A process
However it must be understood that consensus cannot be brought about by an abrupt decision to start operating by consensus. It is a culture matured though a process of understanding and working together that builds trust. It is not the minority acceptance of majority diktats. Neither is it the conferring of veto powers to small pressure groups. It is also not a position of reaching compromises which at the end are not wise and are in nobody’s interest.
Consensus is a process by which people with different interests, beliefs and opinions make the effort to listen to and understand different points of view and are willing to change their position to ensure that a decision benefits the whole rather than the part.

Precedent
Consensus is very possible in certain areas but can only be achieved if we do not attempt to have consensus in everything. Certain positions are irreconcilable and any attempt for consensus will only generate doubts in the concept. It is also not the way to go for some urgent executive decisions on which finding a consensus will mean short-circuiting systems and the dialogue process as this will surely lead to frustration.
In Malta we have managed to reach consensus in the past, as happened for example in the development of our financial services initiative. This was a long process of information and dialogue until it was accepted that there were no hidden agendas or ideological baggage that one side was trying to load on the other.

Foreign Policy
In foreign policy, Malta can reach consensus. In the absence of the ideological categorising and committed positions in support of like-minded countries, after the demise of such movements as the so called non-aligned movement, after the acceptance by all of our European vocation, the trust in our foreign policy seems to be quite clear.
We must ensure our security in the long term and we must be as wide open as possible to economic exchange and investment. We must be relevant in the fostering of a global understanding on peace and must be vociferous on environmental issues. We must push our interests in the European fora and fight our battles with the Euro technocrats. We must push for an effective Mediterranean policy.

Mediterranean
In a meeting in Rome, Sarkozy, Prodi and Zapatero announced that they would work for the creation of a Union of Mediterranean Countries. This is good news indeed. We must be at the forefront of such initiatives. To do so we must have full consensus on the way to go forward and the way to insert ourselves forcefully at a very early stage.