Jason Micallef was in the spotlight again recently by making certain deplorable comments regarding the independent media, and how the PL Leadership race, which is also a race for the post of Prime Minister, should be handled.

In a Facebook post about the PL Leadership race – in which Chris Fearne and Robert Abela are contesting, Micallef said that he does not agree that the leadership debate be extended to ‘frivolous’ debates on state or other media which is not PL media.

He then went on to say that the aim of “other media” is to create controversy that leads to tension, if not division, between the candidates.

So according to Micallef, the candidates who are expected to lead a political party, and one of whom will be Prime Minister after being elected, should only ask soft questions put to them by PL media people so that the public will have no real idea as to what kind of Prime Minister either will be. Yes, definitely democratic values at their best.

This is not just about the party, but about a country that is bleeding as a result of terrible decisions taken by those at the top over the past years, since the Panama Papers.

It is this kind of reasoning why Maltese politics is still in its tribal stage, as party media serves one purpose, to make their political party look good, without ever rocking the boat. Party media can never ask the questions that have to be asked as they must at all times be loyal followers. This is about the country, not the party. Party second, country first.

This however was not the only reason Jason Micallef made the news recently.

A recent European Commission report found that the political controversy surrounding Valletta 2018, brought about by comments made by V18 Chairman Jason Micallef, “caused considerable damage” to the European Capital of Culture’s international reputation, as well as to Valletta and Malta generally. The European Commission oversees the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) brand.

While the report does say the overall performance was positive, and the event, apart from lifting Valletta’s cultural status and attracting more Maltese to visit cultural events, led to increased tourist arrivals both in Malta and in the capital city, also read that “ill-advised communications served to damage the international reputation of the brand and political interference affected the artistic vision and direction” of V18.

Micallef had drawn the ire of artists, and the general public, with rants on the use of the Great Siege monument in Valletta as a makeshift shrine dedicated to slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. He had also ridiculed the journalist by twisting her famous last words and using them with photos of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in St Julian’s.

As a man who was the head organiser for Valletta’s time in the limelight, he would have better served his country by not attacking the idea of a memorial to a murdered journalist. The fact is that without him at the head, V18 would probably not have been at the forefront of controversy internationally.