Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1201983
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JANUARY 2020 NEWS over-arching role he played in government, including his in- volvement in controversial ma- jor contracts and agreements, and his camaraderie with busi- ness people. Abela has made it clear that decisions will be taken by him and his Cabinet – elected of- ficials – and not by a hidden hand. Within this context, Caruana's choice is crucial. An economist by profession, who also lec- tures at the University of Malta, Caruana is unassuming but fo- cussed and strong on policy. Suffice to say that Caruana had been the architect of the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin's policy document calling for a youth guarantee before the 2013 elec- tion and which was eventually endorsed by both major politi- cal parties. But Caruana does not only bring with him academic back- ground. He is also a practical person. In 2014, he was the person to draw up the framework for the government's free childcare for all and implement it. He also served as Jobs Plus CEO for the past few years, captaining a re- form that has seen a constant reduction in the number of un- employed people. But Caruana knows politics as well. He has held elected office in the past when he contested with the Labour Party for the Żabbar council and eventually became mayor of the locality. Caruana's choice is a rupture from the business-inclined atti- tude of Schembri but it is also a measure of continuity for gov- ernment's economic direction. Caruana has been a vocal de- fender of the economic growth of the past few years, which has required the importation of foreign labour. He could be an important cog in the interplay between maintaining Malta's growth potential and measures directed at alleviating the wage pressures on lower categories, envisaged by the Prime Minis- ter. Ending the flower war: reach- ing out The decision to stop clearing the Daphne Caruana Galizia makeshift memorial in Valletta was an important one to end a puerile 'war' that has been going on for more than two years. In a situation where Malta's rule of law came under intense spotlight from international in- stitutions, the daily clearing of flowers and candles was con- sistently brought up by MEPs and institutions as a sign of gov- ernment's miserable treatment of the Caruana Galizia family and mourners. Abela's was a goodwill gesture that distinguishes his admin- istration from the one it has replaced but it also helps the government focus on the more important issues linked to good governance. The move did not go down well with some Labour Party diehards. But Abela's decision is an attempt to reach out to a hostile crowd and defuse the anger towards his government. It is also an attempt to show middle-of-the-road voters, who drifted to Labour under Mus- cat's leadership but got disillu- sioned by the events of the past weeks that he intends doing things differently. A new direction for the police: marching orders The police commissioner's resignation, which has all the undertones of a forced remov- al despite the flowery language, was a clear signal of govern- ment's intention to tackle the weaknesses in the police force. Cutajar became the figure- head for criticism directed at the police by activists and many other people, who could not understand how certain people in power appeared to be above the law. The cherry on the cake came last week during the con- stitutional court case institut- ed by murder suspect Yorgen Fenech to have lead inspector Keith Arnaud removed from the Caruana Galizia murder case. While testifying in the case, Cutajar spoke of how the police were looking into leaks from the investigation. Fenech has al- leged that Arnaud was the per- son leaking the information to Keith Schembri. When asked, Cutajar said Arnaud was investigating the leaks. His reply prompted Judge Lawrence Mintoff to ask in an incredulous tone: "So Arnaud was investigating himself?" This incident was the last straw that broke the camel's back because it made Cutajar look like an ineffectual police chief in the face of serious accu- CONTINUES PAGE 14