Ok, I appreciate the irony. But I am trying to say something different.

Frankly, I really do not care (any more) for partisan politics. I am more interested in conducting a normal existence in this country. My ultimate aim, therefore, is not to help the Capulets against the Montagues (or vice versa). I feel more akin to Mercutio – hoping not to meet his same end at the hands of some fiery Tybalt.

Elsewhere, I left a comment on the difference between civil rights and other rights. I think my comment conforms to the reasoning of the ECtHR which you have quoted in a slightly different context.

Every single political action of extraodinary consequence has to be subjected to discussion.

This is the essence of democracy.

Daphne – this is becoming worrisome. What do people think Fascism was (and still is) all about? A clown make spirited speeches to crowds of mountain goat-herders?!

The Fascists used to invoke SOCIAL justice all the time. (Within the confines of the Nation State – in this they were different to the other Socialists who wanted social justice for all nations – thus the Socialist International.)

Political education is an absolute need in this country.

[Daphne – I agree. The sooner everyone learns to distinguish between something that is a matter of opinion and choice (EU membership) and something that is a civil right (divorce), the better. Then perhaps we won’t have any of this claptrap about the people deciding whether to introduce divorce or not. What can I say? Thank God the people were not asked to decide whether women got the vote.]

The first family was OK for a few years, then boom. Their children were over 25 yrs. old so they had no problems. I agree with small children you are doomed.

Who said that there was a difference in the way marriages break down? The difference mentioned here (a point you raised, incidentally) is in the way the breakdown is handled or ultimately resolved.

I am pro divorce because I think co-habitation without marriage is more harmful.

Remarriage is better than cohabitation.

The Archbishop should know that men don’t need divorce to find other women, if other women are what they want.

Daphne, you chose three expensive countries: Britain,Germany and France. You have to do your thinking very well before you do such a thing.

A friend of mine got a divorce from Spain.They hired a small flat in the south of Spain; it’s very much cheaper there than anywhere else you mentioned.

Hired a local lawyer who told them what to do, made I.D.s to show that they lived there, found work in a hotel and enjoyed their holiday for a year.

When all the paperwork was done and signed a divorce was granted. They came back to Malta, their divorce was registered, and after some time they got married to others. Quite cheap, and now they are living happily with their new family.

[Daphne – New family? First family, I imagine. They couldn’t have done that if they had children to start with.]

I would answer with another question: why get married by the Catholic rite, with all its rules and regulations, in the first place?

The fact that non-Maltese cannot understand the difference between marital breakdown and divorce might back the argument that couples in other countries may go for divorce the minute their marriage starts to crack. For them, there’s no one without the other.

[Daphne – As if. Grow up. There is no difference between the way marriages break down in Malta and the way they break down elsewhere.]

Today I felt like saying my bit, so thanks to your site I can. This simple civil right (divorce) is a must in today’s society. I am fed up with such hypocrisy in this country!

No one can stop the inevitable.

http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=10463