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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 SEPTEMBER 2018 17 September 2008 Man turns himself in after fatal shootout DIONE Mercieca, 46 from Birkirkara, yesterday gave himself up at the law courts in Valletta at around noon shortly after allegedly shooting down his busi- ness partner, Martin Scicluna. The 43-year-old father of two from Siggiewi died on the spot at the Qormi office in Guze Galea Street of All Sports International – a company specialised in the installation of artificial turf pitches – of which he was chairman and Mercieca was managing director. Eyewitnesses said they heard two shots fired from a shotgun. It is understood that the two partners had a quarrel over their business. Mercieca, who was seen providing regular security during past election campaigns to the former prime minister and leader of the Nationalist Party, was kept under arrest. Duty Magistrate Michael Mallia was informed and has appointed court experts to assist him in an in- quiry. 'Chairman's appointment could be illegal' DECISIONS taken by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) in the past weeks could be challenged in Court because the current composi- tion of the MEPA board might be in violation of the law, MEPA auditor Joe Falzon warns. The planning authority's ombudsman is question- ing the legality of Austin Walker's appointment as MEPA executive chairman, and that of Labour MP and MEPA employee Roderick Galdes as the Opposi- tion's member on the MEPA board. Falzon says the Development Planning Act prohib- its employees of any public agency – such as MEPA – from serving on the MEPA board, the highest decision-making organ in the authority. Falzon has now asked the new MEPA chairman, Austin Walker, to seek the advice of the Attorney General regarding the legality of his "double role" as board chairman and an executive officer – a position which effectively makes him an employee of the Au- thority. Falzon also expressed strong doubts on the ap- pointment of Labour MP Roderick Galdes as the Op- position's representative on the MEPA board, who is also an employee of MEPA. "The Development Plan- ning Act makes it clear that any servant of a public agency cannot serve on the board. As MEPA employ- ees, both Galdes and the new MEPA chairman are servants of a public agency," Falzon told MaltaToday when contacted. Falzon considers the implications of Walker's ap- pointment as "executive chairman" even more seri- ous than Galdes's, because the Labour MP's role only becomes vital when his presence is required to reach a quorum. "Austin Walker's double role as chairman of the board and MEPA's full-time employee could expose him to a conflict of interest. Being responsible for all that happens within MEPA, he does not enter board meetings with a clean slate," Falzon contends. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week The first year of Adrian Delia Editorial "The methods and approaches being followed by members of this Parliament to examine govern- ance issues [against Malta] are crassly biased." Labour MEP Alfred Sant explains his decision not to vote on the Hungary resolution WHEN Adrian Delia won the PN leadership race a year ago, he did so with all the odds seemingly stacked against him. Just weeks before the vote, the Nationalist Party Execu- tive Council had urged him to withdraw from the contest altogether: one of several indica- tors that Delia would be fiercely opposed by a sizeable faction within the party's own structures. On top of this internal resistance, Delia was from the outset the underdog in an election also contested by veteran heavyweight Chris Said. He had no direct experience in politics at all; no connection to the PN's historic battle- cries; and no seat in Parliament with which to assume the role of Opposition leader – as well as, at the time, no guarantee that any Nationalist MP would vacate his or her seat for that purpose. From that perspective, Adrian Delia's vic- tory was in itself an extraordinary achieve- ment, for which he deserves full credit. But it can also be seen to have come at a significant political cost: pre-emptively sad- dling the incoming leader with the unenvi- able task of having to preside over a frac- tured, demoralised and rudderless party. To be fair, it was not a situation of his own making. In this sense, his very inexperience served as an advantage: whatever his other faults, Delia could not be blamed for the suc- cessive losses of the 2013 and 2017 elections; still less, for the sheer scale of those electoral defeats. But from the outset, his own electoral bid for the leadership was framed as an attempt to 'rescue' the party from the clutches of a 'clique' that had 'hijacked' it. And while the administrative council tried to stop him from contesting, the PN's own General Council chose Delia over Said – who was (perhaps unfairly) viewed as a 'continua- tion' candidate. Delia therefore took over the Nationalist party on the promise of 'restoring it' to its rightful owners: with a view to eventually rebuilding it into a political force capable of mounting a serious challenge to Joseph Mus- cat's compact and united Labour Party. That would be no small task even for the most seasoned political veteran: let alone a politi- cal novice, as Delia was at the time. But that was a year ago. Since then, there have been numerous developments of sig- nificant impact on the local situation. Al- most immediately came the brutal murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, which dramatically changed the entire political landscape. A change in Italian government has mean- while also catapulted the issue of irregular immigration back to the fore: sparking nu- merous spats and stand-offs between our two countries, and resulting in a fresh wave of immigration-related controversies that are likely to dominate election campaigns in the near future. Although both outside Delia's own control, these developments – among others – have also served to further deepen the PN's inter- nal rift. Daphne's murder galvanised a grass-roots activism movement that is, in itself, inimical to Delia and all he represents. It has erected still more obstructions to the Nationalist Party's hope of reuniting its warring factions. Nor did Delia help his own cause by mis- handling the results of the Egrant inquiry. In politics, it is important to choose one's bat- tles with care. Delia's haste to demand the resignation of Simon Busuttil betrayed a naive underes- timation of his rival's support levels within the parliamentary group. The PN leader was eventually forced to climb down from his earlier position: weakening his own hand, while strengthening Busuttil's to the bargain. Much the same applies to his handling of other issues. Delia's recent statements, echo- ing populist concerns with immigration, have raised uncomfortable questions about the directions he intends to take the PN. By arguing that 'foreigners' pose a direct threat to 'Malta's cultural traditions and val- ues', Delia has opened himself to criticism of espousing militant right-wing views. And while his words may indeed resonate with significant segments of the electorate, they also portend economic uncertainty in the unlikely event of a PN electoral victory in the near future. Delia seems to be hinting at a concern with Malta's current economic model, more than with the presence of foreigners in itself. Anyone in the business community could point out to him that the current economic boom is in itself the direct result of an un- precedented influx of migrant workers: by seeming to object to this strategy, Delia may unwittingly cast his own party as a threat to the survival of several Maltese businesses... including those sectors which have tradition- ally supported PN in the past. Moreover, any electoral gains to be achieved by this apparent swing to the right, will have to be compensated by the possible loss of moderate PN voters who expect their party to be a voice of reason and compassion. Ironically, Delia's populism on this issue may even serve to bolster Joseph Muscat's image as a 'moderate': risking further haemorrhage of votes from PN to Labour. Having started out on such an inauspicious note, Adrian Delia seems to have created more problems, not fewer, in his first year. Unless he learns from his mistakes and over- comes his political naivety, his future years as PN leader may well prove even more difficult.