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2 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 • 19 JANUARY 2020 10 years ago 17 January, 2010 Joseph Muscat finds no candidates for secretary-general MALTATODAY last Wednesday revealed how the post of secretary-general would be removed when Joseph Muscat's favoured man for the job, lawyer Edward Zammit Lewis, decided to forgo his candidature just after a few weeks into his grooming for the post. Zammit Lewis has since decided to stand for election on the eighth district. Faced with Muscat's fait accompli, the 27 at- tending members voted unanimously to abolish the post of secretary-general – an administrative and political role in place since 1977 – fearing that any opposition would backfire on them. Several members who attended the meeting said they were "disgusted" at the way Muscat had bulldozed the motion to ensure full compli- ance with his reorganisation of the party. "None of us are that stupid to object to such a motion. It would have been our end. The leader is every- thing in this party. But this is far too much," an insider commented. Adding further to the furtiveness of the mo- tion, at the end of the meeting Zebbug mayor Alfred Grixti suggested that Muscat's threaten- ing comment that he would push the motion in the general conference if the executive did not approve it, be removed from the meeting's min- utes. Grixti said that in this way "events taking place in the national executive would not reach the media." The secretary-general's post was thrown into turmoil after Muscat handpicked a party CEO, James Piscopo, to take over the day-to-day running of the party. His move was intended to weaken the power held by secretary-general Jason Micallef, who did not resign after the 2008 general election loss. Instead, he was re-elected to the position, shortly after Muscat's election as party leader. The young leader, unwilling to publicly endorse a favoured candidate, left party delegates no choice but to return Micallef to the post. But Micallef and Piscopo's overlapping roles led to stormy arguments between the two inside the party headquarters. Muscat was left with no choice but to offer Micallef the way out by installing him as chairman of One TV, and put- ting Labour president Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi as acting secretary-general until the January 2010 general conference. MaltaToday Quote of the Week A good start, but only a start Editorial PRIME Minister Robert Abela has hit a number of high notes in his first week of office, which contrast- ed with the promise of continuity in the short cam- paign for Labour's leadership. This suggests that Abela has made calculated steps to win the leadership: first by rebelling against the party establishment – rejecting the so-called 'diabolical pact', which would have seen him serving as Fearne's deputy – then proceeding to win the hearts of Labour voters by promising continuity with Muscat. Yet with the authority vested in him by party members, Abela has decided to seize the moment rather than waste time on a honeymoon. In his choice of Cabinet, he asserted his leadership cre- dentials by sending a strong signal that his govern- ment will chart a different course. Instead of a shuffling of posts to fill some missing places, Abela has effectively appointed a new gov- ernment. This is more like what one expects after a general election than after a midterm change of leadership; but it does reflect the crisis facing the country. It also reflects some of Abela's new thinking: like remerging the environment with planning under Aaron Farrugia, and promoting Housing to a Minis- try led by Roderick Galdes. He also catapulted newcomer Byron Camilleri – not even a Cabinet member under Muscat – to the Home Affairs Ministry. This indicates that Abela wanted a breath of fresh air in a sector marked by institutional paralysis. The resignation of Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar reinforces this perception. Nonetheless, there remain areas of concern. Owen Bonnici will still have to prove himself to fill the shoes of veteran Evarist Bartolo in education. But the choice of Bartolo as Foreign and European Affairs Minister signals Abela's concern with the country's reputation: entrusting a veteran min- ister with repairing the massive damage done in the last years. As expected, Abela has not reappointed the dis- graced Konrad Mizzi, and Keith Schembri has been replaced as chief- of-staff by economist Clyde Caruana: who unlike his predeces- sor is known for his technical credentials and not for dubious business connections. Schembri ally Neville Gafa has also resigned from the OPM, a day after he attended Abela's inaugura- tion. On a more symbolic level, Abela has also offered an olive branch to civil society activists, by stopping the ridiculous removal of flowers from the make- shift shrine for Daphne Caruana Galizia opposite the law courts. These small symbolic steps count to- wards restoring a sense of normality in the country. All the same, Abela has also been careful to em- phasise continuity, especially with regards to Mus- cat's economic model. One understands that Abela cannot afford to rock the boat in such a sensitive moment. But he cannot ignore those sectors of society who have been overlooked by the trickle-down economic model. While recognising that wealth is not trick- ling down fast enough in to workers' pockets, Abela has appealed to businesses not to forget workers. But by also summarily shooting down the idea of introducing a living wage, as suggested by anti-pov- erty activist, this sounded more like an appeal to generosity rather than social justice. And while his decision to remerge the environ- ment and planning in one ministry suggests a dif- ferent thinking from that of Muscat, his insistence on 'balance' between development and environment may fall short of the need to restore a deep imbal- ance against the latter. There may even be an element of political conti- nuity with Muscat's political project, that of displac- ing the Nationalist Party as a centrist party which appeals to moderates. For cleansed of Muscat's ex- cesses and the corruption and laissez faire attitudes of the past years, Abela may easily reclaim this space, which Labour was at risk of losing in the past weeks. Abela's demeanour may well appeal to moderates who had no qualms about Mus- cat's economic policies, but were turned off by his antics. Yet this project may fall short of ad- dressing the need of change in the social and environmental sectors. It may also see a more cautious approach to civil liberties, and a certain reluctance to embark on radical reforms: including an overhaul of party fi- nancing rules, rules reg- ulating meetings with lobbyists and other checks and balances. So far, however, Abela has shown little interest in such reforms. "I was uncomfortable with the damage to our reputation… my head of secretariat has credentials that do not lead me into that conflict" Robert Abela on Keith Schembri's relationship with Nexia BT