With the start of the Euro 2016 football competition, and the summer season fast approaching, one would expect the usual amount activity to go into a lull but it seems that some public institutions have taken an early break. The chairperson of the Broadcasting Authority did not find time to convene the board to hear another complaint related to the reporting of the Panama Papers saga, whilst finding time to make a first by flying to Stockholm to follow the Eurovision Song Contest live. At the same time The Malta Independent reports that the Commissioner of Police finds no ‘reasonable suspicion’ for investigating the same Panama Papers scandal.

 

Advised to go slow

The Prime Minister is also taking his time to appoint the replacements of the two government representatives on the Broadcasting Authority, following the resignation of its two original nominees several weeks ago. This led to the Authority being advised to go slow and keep away from controversial decisions, even though its former CEO and present Dean of the University’s Faculty of Laws Kevin Aquilina argued that the authority could still function with three members out of five.

Now there is no doubt that the Broadcasting Authority has taken a couple of very controversial decisions. To mention one, the chairman of the Authority had already – some time ago – done the unimaginable when she single-handedly overturned an original decision of the authority’s board, only to again overturn it following a legal threat. But laming the authority rather than strengthening it during times of national crisis is definitely not the best way forward.

Nonetheless, the Broadcasting Authority will not regain its credibility until its chairperson is appointed with a two-thirds parliamentary majority – as proposed by the Nationalist Party – instead of by the present simple nomination by the Prime Minister.

 

No reasonable suspicion

While nobody in Malta has any shred of doubt about the wrongdoing of the Panama scandal, the Maltese Police Force has no reasonable suspicion to investigate. No wonder that colleagues Beppe Fenech Adami and Jason Azzopardi have stated that “instead of having a police force serving the people, we have a force that serves the government”. There is no doubt that the fact that the Police Commissioner is unashamedly a political appointment does not help the situation: it does not restore credibility in an important institution as it makes the Force more of a lapdog than a watchdog.

 

As with the case of the Broadcasting Authority, the Police Force will not regain credibility until the Police Commissioner is appointed by a two-thirds parliamentary majority as proposed by the Nationalist Party.

 

Devious methods

The appointment of the Ombudsman and the Auditor-General already requires a two-thirds parliamentary approval and this provides them with the independence that such institutions requires. As such, they have been able to investigate government operations freely and fearlessly. Of course, there might have been cases where one would has not fully agreed with all the conclusions, but there is no doubt that these two offices have, in general, carried out sterling work.

This year, architect David Pace, the Environment and Planning Commissioner within the office of the Ombudsman, has come under attack by way of an anonymous letter to the Speaker of the House that accused him of wrongdoing in 2013. Mr Pace has subsequently provided adequate explanations to refute any all accusations but the fact remains that the attack on the integrity of the person and the office was vicious.

I condemned these attacks when Parliament’s House Business Committee debated the Ombudsplan and as a result became a target for the Labour Party media, which took umbrage at my defence of the institution rather than the infamous malicious anonymous letter and its extensive reporting. One wonders why! But we do know that Mr Pace carried out an investigation into a Planning Authority permit issued in respect of the private property of a government minister. He deemed the issuing of the permit ‘devious’. 

 

France 2016

On a completely different note, the Euro 2016 has taken off in Paris, with the French national team grabbing their first win. The sports festival is being held amidst concerns of terrorist threats less than a year after Paris was hit at its very core, twice leaving more than 150 people dead. France, Europe and, indeed, the civilised world were shattered.

Although one cannot be too careful in such situations, this football spectacle is in itself another act of boldness in the face of terror. May the games be yet another confidence boost for France and for Europe.