Opposition joins government approving Charles Mangion as MTA Chair

The Opposition has given the green light for the government to appoint former Labour minister Charles Mangion, 73, as the new Chair of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA).

The Opposition endorsed his nomination even though Mangion served as disgraced former minister Konrad Mizzi’s right-hand man both as chairman of Enemalta and then Air Malta.

Mangion is now the Chair of one of Malta’s most critical government agencies, controlling a massive budget despite his failures at Air Malta. At 73, his ideas on the sector’s future are in question.

PN MP Adrian Delia said that while the Opposition was endorsing the nomination, it expected the new MTA Chairman to work on enforcing laws, particularly regarding issues of tables and chairs in public spaces and the culture of impunity that had been allowed to fester during the past years.

Apart from Delia, PN MP Rebekah Borg and Labour MPs Chris Agius, Andy Ellul, Amanda Grech and Omar Farrugia voted in favour.

After decades in politics, Charles Mangion failed to make it to parliament in 2013 and was ousted by his nephew, now Economy Minister Silvio Schembri. Disgraced former minister Konrad Mizzi made him Enemalta chairman.

On his watch, Enemalta was partially sold to the Chinese government. At the same time, the new gas-fired power station and the scandalous Montenegro wind farm project were procured.

In 2017, Mizzi also made Mangion the chairman of Air Malta – once again expanding its routes and reversing measures implemented only a few years earlier by then-minister Edward Zammit Lewis. The national airline now no longer exists.

In 2018, after some three years of failing to publish the airline’s accounts, Mizzi and Mangion announced a €1.2 million profit. This later proved false, confirmed by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana.