The road to the Malta Church - Labour Party Peace Accord (1969)

Abstract

Various attempts were made, between 1962 and 1969, to reconcile the Malta Church and the Malta Labour Party following the tense relationship that had resulted from the Integration issue and subsequently by Labour Leader Mr Dominic Mintoff’s decision in 1959 to confront head-on the local Church institution which, in his view, was hindering the fulfilment of his policies.1 The Church responded to the challenge by interdicting in 1961 the Labour Party executive, and later by imposing the mortal sin on those electors who were known to have voted for Labour in the 1962 general election. The Labour Party lost that election and it blamed the Church for this political failure. The Nationalist Party victory on the other hand facilitated the attainment of Independence for Malta; an achievement which was, however, opposed by the Church. During the following 1966 general election the local Church and the Labour Party continued to drift apart