A request to discuss a petition calling for the removal of V18 Chairman Jason Micallef in front of the Cultural Committee of the German Parliament was shot down by the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group on the European Capital of Culture, PL MP Clayton Bartolo.
MP Therese Commodini Cachia tabled the request to discuss the petition tabled by over 100 local artists to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, calling for Micallef’s resignation, as was reported in The Malta Independent.
Bartolo argued that the request should have been addressed to the Committee itself had it wished for it to be discussed on this platform.
“These local artists are more than welcome to send a petition here and their request will be met,” he said. “Beyond that, Bonnici and [Parliamentary Secretary for V18] Deo Debattista have made their positions clear.”
Commidini Cachia, while saying that she will respect the decision, stressed that she was against the ruling.
Micallef has been at centre of a public storm, receiving a tirade of condemnation from local and foreign artists, politicians and those linked with the EU’s capital of culture both internationally and locally after he ridiculed the last words of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia amid ongoing calls from anti-corruption protestors and members of civil society for government to be held accountable.
“The situation is desperate. There [are] happy people everywhere you look,” Micallef wrote on St Patrick’s day this year.
As the criticism and anger mounted against Micallef for making such comments, he, along with Muscat and, continuously pointed to freedom of expression to defend his language.
The newsroom previously reported how local and international artists, and famous writers such as Ewan McGregor hailing from PEN International condemned Micallef for his commentary, criticising him for failing to champion European values, calling for his removal.
They had specifically called out his harsh opposition of banners hung around Valletta calling for justice for the murder of Caruana Galizia, where Micallef repeatedly ordered their removal; along with his repeated offensive remarks against Caruana Galizia and her supporters on social media.
Most recently, eight past and future representatives of the European Capital of Culture have called out Micallef for ridiculing European Values. 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."
Valletta Mayor Alexiei Dingli has also disassociated himself from the V18 Foundation, over Micallef’s behaviour.