Muscat and the Italian circus

Malta will be the ultimate loser in a European scenario where each country invokes its national interest with regards the immigration.
For that is what you get when everyone invokes the nationalist interest; an anarchy in which the strongest nations prevail on the weaker ones. Our long term interest is best served by the pain staking process of creating a system of rules not by Italy's rude diplomacy.
The alternatives to pain staking diplomacy is isolation. And pain staking diplomacy requires statesmen not demogouges who constantly cry wolf and stamp their feet.
What I find incredulous is Joseph Muscat declaration that he supports the stance taken by the Italian government which expects Europe to show solidarity with Italy while refraining from showing any solidarity with Malta.
His stance speaks volumes on the foreign policy vacuum which exists in the Labour Party. On immigration and foreign policy the Labour Party is simply not a credible alternative to the present government.
The major lesson from Europe's rebuke of the Italian circus is that one cannot conduct foreign policy while trying to appeal to the redneck vote. This is exactly what Maroni was trying to do.
The lack of results speak volumes on the wisdom of such tactics.
Muscat should be wary of fueling expectations which he will not be able to fulfill in government without turning Malta in to a pariah state which fails to fulfill international obligations. The problem is that some in the party's grass roots are taking him to his word. They will expect him to behave like Maroni. But he knows that if he does so he will be treated like a moron.
Interestingly Labour corrects its stance by referring to human dignity of migrants but not to their fundamental rights.
Labour's ambiguity is dangerous. For by stopping short of committing itself to respect our obligation to rescue all migrants in danger of losing their life and to give them the right to seek asylum, it hints at a solution which clearly does not respect human dignity let alone rights.
While the stance on migration fails the progressive acid test, the diplomatic scenario evoked by the appeal to "Mintoffian" diplomacy fails the "moderation" test. Those thinking that diplomacy is all about stamping their feet either want to score cheap political points or have no idea about the way diplomacy is conducted in Europe.