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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 • 23 FEBRUARY 2020 21 February, 2010 Transport chief wins Manoel Island yard The government-appointed head of the mar- itime regulator, Mark Portelli, has opened himself up to a possible conflict in his role as chairman of Transport Malta, because he is a shareholder of the company awarded the 30-year concession for the Manoel Island yacht yard (MIYY) two weeks ago, and a business partner of entrepreneurs with interests in up- coming marina privatisations. Portelli is director of Manoel Island Yacht Yard Ltd, a company formed on 1 December 2009, just two months before the Privatisation Unit accepted a €12.4 million offer for MIYY. The finance ministry ignored various ques- tions by MaltaToday on Portelli's involvement in the winning consortium, claiming that yacht repair is not regulated by the Malta Maritime Authority (now falling under Transport Malta). "Any involvement of Portelli's in MIYY is com- pletely irrelevant to the privatisation process since the MMA was at no point involved in the privatisation process," a spokesperson said. But Portelli's involvement in MIYY opens him up to questions on his impartiality as Transport Malta chief, and the interest of his co-shareholders. His other directors and shareholders include Midi plc chairman Albert Mizzi, Victor Bez- zina of Bezzina Ship Repair, Raphael Bianchi, Michael Hili, and Christopher Mizzi. Midi plc, a shareholder in Manoel Island Yacht Yard Ltd, was already earmarked by the maritime authority as the developer of a new marina at Ta' Xbiex that it wants to establish further inside the inlet by the Gzira Gardens. Situating it by the marina at Manoel Island, already owned by Midi plc, the new marina would add a further 99 berthing spaces. The maritime authority wants to develop the new marina near the breakwater that will be constructed by Midi itself, as laid down in the deed for its Tigné and Manoel Island project concessions. The tendering document itself states that once the breakwater is completed, Midi will be responsible for the infrastructural cost to develop the Ta' Xbiex marina – a state- ment which did not go unnoticed by industry observers... Quote of the Week At 100, some self-reflection for Labour Editorial AS the Labour Party celebrates its centenary with jus- tified enthusiasm, it must also come to terms with a series of scandals that have weakened its credentials as a modern, progressive and democratic party. To his credit, Prime Minister Robert Abela ap- pears to acknowledge these challenges. Addressing the crowds at last Sunday's extraordinary general conference, he admitted the party made mistakes… but insisted that the lessons had been learnt. He pledged that good governance will remain a priority for his government "to ensure that what happened, does not happen again". To make good on those words, however, Abela will have to address the systemic problems that dogged the preceding government. Some of those issues in- volve reforms of a system that allowed for the state capture of national insti- tutions, and severely di- luted our country's system of checks and balances. As such, these problems have to be tackled at national – as opposed to party – lev- el. But there are analogous problems that need to be addressed within his own party, too. And Labour's 100th anniversary presents the perfect opportunity to examine the historical processes that gave rise to some of these shortcomings. Throughout its centennial existence, the Labour Party's history has been characterised by a number of epochal, confrontational struggles – admittedly not all of its own making – against the British, the Church, the Nationalist Party, the European Un- ion… and at times, even against itself. Inevitably, this gave rise to a certain belligerence that often characterised its behaviour on the po- litical stage. It also fostered what Abela himself describes as a 'siege mentality' among Labour vot- ers… a sense that the party is permanently beset from all angles by forces seeking to destroy it. Though many of the original causes have long since faded, their effects can still be felt to this day. Judging by public online commentary, one example would be a fierce intolerance for external (local or international) criticism. This is consonant with the siege mentality allud- ed to earlier. It creates an aura of 'victim-playing', whereby any criticism – even if legitimate – is viewed as biased or unfair. As such, Labour often imparts the impression that it is automatically right in all its policies and deci- sions, while its detractors are always wrong. Clear- ly, this is not a healthy political position to adopt, as it may pave the way to a dictatorial mindset. Another example is the grassroots' traditionally unswerving loyalty towards the party leader: which was recently thrown into sharp focus with the resignation of Joseph Muscat – possibly the most beloved Labour Party leader of all time. Yet for all the adulation previously bestowed up- on Muscat, it took Abela no time at all to consoli- date his position as uncontested leader in his place. This contrasts sharply with the problems that have dogged Adrian Delia since replacing Simon Busuttil as PN leader in 2017. On the surface, this nat- ural tendency to support the party leader, no mat- ter what, can be described as a blessing for the La- bour Party; it more or less guarantees a degree of permanent stability that is currently denied to the PN. But on another level, it can also be seen as a long- term threat to the party's democratic credentials. It was, after all, a sense of unswerving loyalty to Mus- cat that created the aura of impunity that ultimate- ly led to his own political demise. For Muscat, too, was unhampered in his leader- ship by any discernible system of checks and bal- ances within his own party. Buoyed by such mas- sive, almost idolatrous support, he was under no visible internal pressure to ever rein in the excesses of the people around him. This, in turn, explains why Muscat found it so easy to mould national institutions according to his own designs. He faced no real opposition in Parlia- ment… and none from within his own party, either. Even today, that situation has remained un- changed. As our poll recently suggested, Abela ap- pears to already enjoy possibly even greater sup- port level than Muscat… a fact which may, in time, erode his enthusiasm for reforms. Labour's centenary, then, may be the perfect opportunity for the party to adopt 'self-criticism' as its new political motto; to distance itself from crude 'leadership cult' mentality that characterised the Mintoff and Muscat eras, and instead to em- bark on a process of sober self-reflection. "Malta risks being placed on the FATF grey list. This is very serious. We need to raise the bar and ensure certain standards, and convince our peers we're serious." MFSA chief strategy officer Chris Buttigieg MaltaToday 10 years ago Labour's centenary may be the perfect opportunity for the party to adopt 'self-criticism' as its new political motto