Looking back on Maltese identity – Timothy Alden

That Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip used to live in Villa Guardamangia, accompanied by their claim of particular affection for our country, have often been expressed as points of pride by many in Malta. If one well and truly pays attention to the mainstream narrative of national identity, however, this mutual affection may come across as a contradiction. The passing of Prince Philip stirs the collective memory and, thus, invites us to collectively look back at our history once again.

Ask anyone what it means to be Maltese and one will get 100 different answers, though with many commonalities one may certainly feel proud of.

In trying to untangle the web of Maltese identity, one does not have to look back very far to find an arena of competing interpretations.

Before World War II, the ‘language question’ raged, with political giants who still command a lot of respect today, making arguments which might sound odd now. The battle between Italian and English was first championed by Anglophile Sigismondo Savona on one side, with Italophile Fortunato Mizzi on the other. These political forces would eventually mature into the parties we know today. Were either of the two gentlemen...