World Notes MALTA

Malta lies in the Mediterranean halfway between Western Europe and Libya, and its politics reflects its geography. Since Malta gained independence from Britain in 1964, elections have been decided between the pro-Western Nationalist Party and the Labor Party, which favors close ties to Libya and the East bloc. Now, after 16 years of Labor rule, Maltese voters have elected a Nationalist government.

Once a port of call for NATO warships, Malta under Labor increasingly turned to the Soviet Union, North Korea and Libya for economic and military aid. So close were security ties with Libyan Strongman Muammar Gaddafi that Maltese officials tried to warn Tripoli minutes before last year's U.S. air raid on Libya.

The new Prime Minister, Eddie Fenech Adami, has pledged to abide by the constitution's neutrality clause, but he says, "This country's place is in Western Europe."