a pirate state?

Malta's opposition to a tax on financial transaction exposes the hallow european credentials of both major parties and their tendency to opt for short term unsustainable bounty rather than modernisation within the european mainstream.
It is a tendency to promote a model of development which might reap some benefits in the short term but is bound to face big hurdles as international controls and legislation catch upon us.
This tendency is evident in the pandering of both major parties to the tuna fattening industry and even in the latest energy fad, the sargas carbon capture plan which depends on other countries accepting our carbon as we burn their coal.
Surely the temptation to go pirate is presently counter balanced by the present government's tendency for good behaviour in international fora and the opposition's attempt to excorcise its all too recent eurosceptic past...But this pirate tendency can gain a momentum of its own. Ultimately if left unchecked this tendency will leave us poorer, dirtier and more isolated.