Disillusionment

Wednesday, November 23, 2005
The news that the Nationalist Party was awarded a contract worth over half a million Euros by the European Commission is a hot talking point amongst the Maltese public nearly as much as today's visit to the island by Queen Elizabeth. It is easy money for Gonzi's party - a press review was already prepared on a daily basis for internal party purposes before the contract award. Now they repackage it and send it to the EU Representation in Malta every morning for the next five years.

The problem with this contract is not just that it is awarded to a political party in a politically sensitive country. The Nationalist Party is itself the owner of a substantial portion of the Maltese printed and broadcast media which effectively means that it will now be monitoring its own media output on behalf of the EC. Even the most enthusiastic pro-Europeans are questioning the sense of judgement behind this contract award.

The EU Representation in Malta, headed by Joanna Drake - herself a former Nationalist Party parliamentary candidate - will now have to double the effort to bring the EU closer to the Maltese citizens . According to the latest Eurobarometer, Maltese public support for the European Union has gone down by 15 per cent since the referendum in 2003. This issue, which has already been raised in the European Parliament, will not enhance the Maltese public perception of European institutions.

Update: Following an inquiry, the European Commission has decided not to renew this contract after the first year expires in September

 

Blogging on The Times

Monday, November 07, 2005
The feature on blogging by Stanley Borg that was published in The Times on 24 October is now available online. It is divided in two sections. In the first part, Stanley - a self confessed 'faithful blog reader', introduces the subject of blogging. He writes that blogs are 'a valuable genre of writing and the blogosphere is fast becoming the place to virtually be'. The second part of the feature is dedicated to commentaries by three Maltese bloggers: Sharon Spiteri, Jacques Rene Zammit and yours truly. Sharon, an insider at The Times for many years before moving to the UK, refers to me as 'the man who will be labelled the foremost blogging talent scout this side of the 21st century'. In return, I happily dub her the 'Queen of Maltese blogging' - long may she reign! Meanwhile, I continue to await Stanley's entry into the blogosphere.

 

Fighting the trend

Wednesday, November 02, 2005
The authorities are waking up to the fact that a substantial section of Malta's human resource is not contributing to the island's growth. Louis Galea, minister for employment and education, yesterday stated that the employment rate in Malta, particularly female, is unacceptably low:

He told Parliament at the opening of the annual debate on the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) that it was unacceptable that Malta's participation rate was just 54 per cent - meaning that practically only half of those of working age were actually working...Dr Galea said the main reason was that the participation of women in the labour sector was very low, to the extent that even if all men were in employment, Malta's participation rate would still remain low.

According to the latest Eurostat figures, Malta has the lowest female employment rate (32.8%) amongst European countries. Malta has also registered the greatest difference between male and female employment rates with a huge gap of 42%.

Louis Galea will need to work hard on convincing his colleagues amongst whom are a number of social conservatives who are sceptical of the idea of encouraging women to work. An opinion piece by Marisa Micallef, who is amongst the more liberal minded of prominent Nationalists, challenges the spirit of Galea's assertions. Her general drift is that we should not be bothered by employment rates and that women are better off staying at home raising kids. Her tone is also surprisingly anti-European. Is this a new trend emerging in PN circles?

 

The fall of David Blunkett

The resignation of David Blunkett, the UK's work and pensions secretary, demonstrates how politicians can be hounded out of office over the slightest of mistakes. Blunkett's fault was a borderline issue but the reality of media politics is that the appearance of impropriety is as damaging as impropriety itself. It is the second time in just a year that he has resigned from a top cabinet post. It is true that he made mistakes and that ministerial codes of conduct cannot be ignored, but there was nothing dishonest or politically underhand in his behaviour.

Despite the embarassments of recent months, the life story of David Blunkett is an inspiration and a great example of how determination can overcome huge challenges in life. He grew up in poverty and his father died in a work accident for which the family received no compensation. As a blind child, he had to fight to be educated properly and to attend university. He became a local councillor while still doing his degree at Sheffield University and, soon after, became a full time politician for nearly forty years until today.

His disability should not be taken for granted. It was a phenomenally difficult hurdle to overcome. It would not be wise to pass judgement quickly on Mr Blunkett - moral issues are usually not black and white affairs. If nothing, his case is proof that there are a lot of things in public life that need to regain a sense of proportion.