Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1439469
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 DECEMBER 2021 OPINION THE events section of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has been very busy this year. Getting out of COVID (or so every- one thought), the events the MTA had to organise to attract tourists from all cor- ners of the universe were a big undertak- ing that only the boys and girls at MTA could carry out. And this involved many events in Val- letta that – COVID or no COVID – at- tracted huge crowds that had travelled to Malta to see them. These events are mind-boggling – for example, the Christmas market in front of the Hotel Phoenicia is a monument to originality. Where can a tourist find anything like it? So the tourists flocked. There were even some from as far away as Għarb, Gozo. For those who lack geographical knowledge, I hasten to add that I have nothing against Għarb, but in the great- er Maltese archipelago (also recognised as the universe by some locals), Għarb is the locality that is furthest away from Valletta. MTA has paid dearly for these events. As part of the contracts it makes with foreign artists and entertainment com- panies, it pays for the accommodation in hotel rooms used by the performers and the accompanying staff. And to monitor these events, the MTA had to employ serious officials who worked night and day to ensure success – to the extent that they had no time to go home for a shower and a break. In- deed, the vital need to ensure the smooth running of these events created a big logistical problem for the MTA. However, as the good employer it is, MTA solved the problem by arranging for its staff to stay at lavish Valletta ho- tels so that they are close to where the action was happening. What is a stay at a €150 a day hotel – apart from breakfast and other services – for each hard-work- ing MTA official? Why not? It also helps the hotel occu- pancy statistics! Wasting public money for events has become the most important activity for the MTA. Apart from events in Valletta, MTA ensures that there are also events in the electoral district from where the Minister of Tourism is elected. It is difficult to estimate how many tourists were attracted by these she- nanigans, but the MTA does not seem to worry if the numbers are somewhat scant. Money is no problem, and the MTA is not at fault if foreign tourists do not visit Malta to follow these magnificent events - it's the fault of COVID, of course. Seriously, the MTA has become an important part of the classical Roman policy of 'panem et circensis' (bread and circuses) that the current administra- tion has promoted to retain its popular- ity. Spending money that does not lead to even one foreigner visiting Malta and Gozo is par for the course for MTA now- adays. People tend to talk of abuses carried out by individual politicians for the ben- efit of their own pocket, but this 'system' has done a COVID and spread to all lev- els of government. Dishing out money has become the only way for this govern- ment to ensure its popularity! And in this, the MTA should not be singled out. The MTA follows the agen- da that is today encouraged by the state in all its ramifications. Contracts are given by direct orders not only to friends of friends but directly to friends. 'Money no problem' has become the motto of the Maltese, even though there is no Latin motto in our current coat-of- arms. Those of my age remember that the old Maltese coat of arms that was launched on Independence Day in 1964 included the motto 'Virtute et Constantia' (by Valour and Firmness). The same motto had also been previously adopted by a number of noble families in Europe. That was dropped when Malta became a republic in 1975. The current official coat-of-arms does not have a motto in Latin – a shortcom- ing that can be solved by the adoption of 'Panem et Circensis' as our national motto. History repeats itself and even the biggest empires meet their end. But meanwhile, 'Panem et Circensis' would certainly fit the bill. Justyne gets sillier Justyne Caruana, the minister who dished out a lucrative contract to her personal friend – who is not qualified to carry out the job he was 'entrusted' to do – resigned last Wednesday, after leaving the Maltese and Gozitan public with bated breath, waiting to see wheth- er she had any other alternative. She also said she will not contest the next general election. Following this sordid story, all she had to do was shut up and disappear from the public's gaze for some time, waiting for time to heal her wounds. Instead Justyne got sillier. Within hours of resigning, she got her lawyers to file a legal action challeng- ing the constitutional validity of the law which led to her being investigated by the Standards Commissioner. Obvious- ly, she conveniently forgot that, as an MP, she had voted in favour of that law! Caruana's lawyers filed constitutional proceedings arguing that the Gozitan MP did not get a fair hearing, adding that she was also 'seriously preoccu- pied' by the way the whole process was applied in her regard. The issue is about the process leading to the report of the Standards Commissioner regarding the contract of employment granted by her to her friend Daniel Bogdanovic. The office of the Standards Commis- sioner is not a Court of Justice and the technical issue raised by her lawyers does not seem – to me – to have any chance of success. In any case, her action is an attempt to generate a situation akin to that of a lawyer of a criminal getting his client off the hook because of a legal technicality, rather than because he is innocent. Whoever gave Justyne Caruana the ad- vice to take up this road, is pushing her to yet another public debacle. In fact, she did not challenge the truth of the facts that led to her resignation. She just complained on the way the truth was investigated! Everyone knows that the facts are cor- rect and that her position was indefensi- ble. In politics, legal niceties on techni- calities do not wash. Here's wishing a belated happy Christ- mas and a prosperous New Year to all readers of MaltaToday! Bread and circuses Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com