Parliamentary Secretary for V18 Deo Debattista has said he will not be taking action over the recent calls for the resignation of V18 Chairman Jason Micallef, pointing to freedom of expression, but reiterated the importance of employing a moderate tone in public discourse. 

Local artists, 72 MEPs, and PEN international writers for Jason Micallef’s resignation over the irreparable damage he has caused to the reputation, programme and leadership of Valletta 2018, with Ulrich Fuchs, the Chairman of the committee that monitored  Valletta as European Capital for Culture in 2018, saying that he would not attend any V18 event “as long as people representing the project destroy European values.”

The common message sent by various Maltese and foreign members of the selection committee that awarded Valletta the title of the European Capital of Culture has also been that V18 Chairman Jason Micallef's post is untenable.

Meanwhile, the Equality Commissioner has come out to criticise the language used by V18 Artistic Director Mario Philip Azzopardi, who had called an activist who partook in and filmed a protest against the sale of passports in London a ‘sorry bitch'. Azzopardi has since apologised.

Debattista backed Micallef, explaining that it was “clear that Micallef is doing important work for V18. He has worked on a lot of projects and there are more projects to do.”

Asked whether this behaviour was acceptable from the chairman of what is supposed to be a unifying apolitical cultural event, Debattista said:

“Yes it is a unifying event, it does not belong to any side, in fact, it was the PN administration who had secured V18 for Malta. It is a feast for Maltese and Gozitans, but no can stop a person’s right to express themselves. You may not agree, and you have a right. Moderation is important but this does not mean he shouldn’t be allowed to speak.”

Debattista agreed that Micallef should be held to a higher standard, given that he is a public official and representative of both Malta and the European Union and that it was important to moderate his tone, however, he still maintained that this was a matter of freedom of expression.

He said he would not take drastic action but insisted that personally, he believed that “we need to go in the direction” of moderated public discourse.

Debatttisa said “they always talk”, when asked whether he discussed the matter with Micallef and Azzopardi.

Pressed whether the petitions currently being circulated would fall on deaf ears, Debattista said that the government has listened to people’s concerns, but a petition did not necessarily translate into a reality.

“If a tax was imposed, a petition does not mean it will be removed,” he said.