Austin Gatt might have been one of the best secretary-generals that the Nationalist Party had. His efforts in the IT sector are equally commendable. But in the conduct of his duties as a minister, he has proved himself to be Labour’s secret weapon.
This is evident in the brash and abrasive manner in which he runs his
ministry as well as in the arrogant stances that he adopts in public, even when addressing issues which should be above the level of the partisan political debate on the island.
The position paper on the energy “crisis” he carried in the form of paid adverts in most newspapers – except in Kullhadd – might have had its fair share of technical details but he spoilt it all by using public funds to lash out at the opposition leader in a most unethical manner.
The same can be said for the way in which he has treated such organisations as the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises, simply because they quite rightly refused to take on board either of the options with which he presented them regarding a possible budget proposal to raise energy prices.
Two totally different issues
During Bondiplus last week, the programme’s anchorman tried to justify his probe into an alleged internal administrative arrangement between Labour MEPs by claiming in defence that newspapers like Kullhadd quite often probe the commercial activities in which Where’s Everybody? engage themselves.
In saying this, Lou Bondi was being somewhat economical with the truth.
It is none of their or our business what consultancies the above company might contract in the private business sector, but if it engages in assignments which involve the payment of public funds then, yes, they and we do have every right and reason to ask pertinent questions about their commercial activities.
It is true that I am one of the MLP exponents who was at the forefront in calling for a withdrawal of the boycott against Where’s Everybody? However, this in no way implies that we should keep mum about the contracts that have been “won” by them in recent years from government or parastatal organisations.
The MLP’S Libya visit
Government sources told me that there was a sigh of relief – propaganda wise – when the Libyans were non-committal in our bilateral discussions as an MLP delegation visiting Tripoli about the possibility of introducing a repatriation agreement with Malta regarding illegal immigrants. It would have been puerile to expect more than that, when the whole issue still seems to be stalled at government-to-government level.
It would have defied logic, had the Libyans given us a thumbs up on this issue and at the same time continued to reject the government’s long outstanding request. What is definitely worth registering is that, instead of scoring cheap political points, we put the national interest first in our discussions. In our various interventions we underlined the financial and economic
hardship that illegal immigration is imposing on Malta, as well as the social and almost racial tensions that it is creating in the midst of our normally peace-loving and friendly island.
While thanking the Libyan hosts for the cordiality and hospitality they extended, I cannot but comment positively on the ever-increasing presence of foreign tourists, who can now even be detected in hotel lobbies, as well as the presence of a major cruise liner in one of their ports just off the El Mahari hotel.
A stark reminder that, unless we pull up our socks pretty fast, the Libyans could soon prove to be strong competitors in the tourist field.
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