This has been the week in which the Prime Minister of the Flawed Democracy and his Cabinet have continued to unravel the policy of resignations, dismissals and terminations. Only seven days ago, I was writing about resignations not being an absolution. The flawed system needs a seeing to that goes far beyond a new coat […] More
It’s easier to gain five kilos than to lose them. And it’s easier to slide down into the Economist’s ‘flawed democracy’ category than to climb out of it. That creates an important benchmark for Robert Abela. His opponents can taunt him with our demotion, no matter what he does. But if Malta is promoted, he […] More
If you want to know the truth, read the financial press. My thesis advisor at university said that and it always stuck with me. His point was that Canada’s two national newspapers came from opposite sides of the political spectrum, and so their views would be filtered through that lens. But he wasn’t implying they […] More
The end of January is drawing near, and the tremors of the recent political earthquake are subsiding. The seismic events brought fear, anger and sadness. There was also a strong sense of betrayal in the air. How could the country end up in such a political disaster? Why weren’t there adequate precautions and safeguards in […] More
Robert Abela’s era is being heralded as a glorious time of cataclysmic change that belies his campaign totem of continuity. Many have rushed to acclaim the State’s new Daniel, but is Abela really the ‘wise young judge’ that he is being made out to be? The ‘optics’ are there for all to see – Muscat’s […] More
To evaluate Robert Abela’s first week as Prime Minister, you need to keep in mind the following question. Be warned: At first it will sound like a stale jibe, but it has everything to do with real hard decisions that Abela will need to take. Why is it that, in the last three years, Maltese […] More
On his first day in office, Abela gave to me… 26 members of Cabinet. The previous record for largest-ever Cabinet was set by Joseph Muscat, who ran a bloated administration stuffed to the stone arches with cronies and friends of friends. Well, loosen that belt and bust up that budget surplus. Abela’s new team will […] More
During the Labour Party leadership campaign, Robert Abela was presented as the “continuity candidate”. While this may have pleased the hard-core Labour Party members who voted for him, this certainly is not desired by a wider majority. People also want change. The negative elements of Joseph Muscat’s administration must be changed, not continued. Muscat has […] More
Sunday morning broke with the news that Robert Abela is to be the new prime minister. Thanks to a majority among the 17,000 eligible tesserati (party members), Abela is the new Mexxej (leader). Analysts were out in full force trying to understand how Abela got here. Others were busy calculating the odds of Abela being […] More
So, it’s Robert Abela, after all, who’s our next Prime Minister. Critics and supporters alike have called him the continuity candidate. But we’re about to find out there’s no such thing as continuity. The world does not stand still. It waits for no one. The long list of Cabinet ministers who endorsed Abela’s rival, Chris […] More
Council of Europe Special Rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt described being shadowed by police during his fact-finding visits to Malta, an assignment he called “my most difficult job ever”. I had a similar experience when I spent a week in North Korea in 2001. I was accompanied by two escorts everywhere I went in the world’s most […] More
A month ago, soon after Joseph Muscat announced his forthcoming resignation as Prime Minister, the Nationalist Party published a document with a set of 15 proposals. This received relatively little attention. It was drowned out by all the tension surrounding the launch of the Labour Party leadership campaign, street protests, and widespread anger or irritation […] More
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