Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529221
11 EDITORIAL maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 NOVEMBER 2024 ROBERT Abela is truly at odds on how to tackle the Clayton Bartolo-Clint Camilleri de- bacle over a consultancy job given to the for- mer's wife. The Prime Minister first defended his ministers and insisted Bartolo's apology was sufficient, refusing to sack both of them. He later tried to distance himself by shifting the onus of responsibility for any decision on their fate to parliament's Ethics Committee. At the same time, the Prime Minister claimed credit for having 'sacked' Bartolo's wife from government employment three years ago. "Perhaps some people didn't un- derstand the decision at the time. But now I say thank God, I took it when I did," he told Times of Malta when doorstepped outside parliament. It seems as if Abela wants us to pat him on the back for the decision he purportedly took back then to terminate Amanda Mus- cat's 'consultancy' agreement. The funny thing about the Prime Minis- ter's latest declaration is that we are only getting to know now about his actions when the story detailing Muscat's employment saga was first published by The Shift News back in 2022. Back then, there was no declaration of sorts – not even a whimper by the Prime Minister, or the Office of the Prime Minis- ter. Abela either dealt with the matter qui- etly not to stir the pot in the hope that the matter slips under the radar; or made no such decision himself. I guess we will never know the truth as to how Muscat's employment was terminated because even the Standards Commissioner was left baffled as to how this happened. But this is a moot point at this stage. The bigger question is, did the ministers act in a correct way? Was it right for Bartolo to give his then-girlfriend an advisory role, which saw her shoot up to Scale 3 of the civil ser- vice grades and paid an additional 'expertise allowance' of €15,000, when she continued to work as a private secretary? Was it right that Muscat was, on paper, transferred as an advisor with the Gozo Ministry with an even higher allowance to escape scrutiny but still worked for her future-husband at the tourism ministry as a secretary? Any honest right-thinking person, in- cluding tens of thousands of Labour vot- ers, would answer all these questions with a plain "no". The only reason Muscat became an advi- sor with a hefty pay packet was because she was the minister's girlfriend. This is greed at the taxpayer's expense and anybody can see it for what it is. Unfortunately, Bartolo believes that a half-hearted apology is enough while de- scribing calls for his resignation as "spin". He cannot even begin to comprehend the anger a story like his creates among ordi- nary people, who work hard to improve their family's standing, pay all their taxes and try to fulfil their duties in an honest way. Camilleri, on the other hand, is on a differ- ent planet altogether, defending his actions by saying that Muscat's engagement was ac- cording to existing guidelines. He obviously knows that he was used but cannot admit as much in public and is simply making a fool of himself. The Prime Minister understands this is an issue that will not blow away and in typi- cal fashion is trying to find a way out of the mess to avoid being personally tarnished, while allowing his ministers to be pilloried in public in the hope they will step down of their own accord. If Abela is serious about upholding quality standards he should have asked his minis- ters to do the right thing and resign. Our suspicion, based on his behaviour, is that he does not have the moral authority to do so because when the questionable em- ployment happened, he was perfectly fine with it. Who is Abela trying to kid when he self-congratulates himself on something he supposedly did three years ago and told no one about? Meanwhile, honest, hardworking people will have to console themselves with Barto- lo's "sorry". It's the new quality standard, it seems. 'Sorry': The new quality standard maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt seize the moment to define the global standards for AI, setting the moral and techno- logical compass for the future. In this high-stakes AI rev- olution, Europe has the po- tential to compete and lead a transformation that will shape the fabric of a global digital society. However, if Europe fails to act decisively, it risks being left behind in a world where AI is increasingly shaping our daily lives and global power dynamics. AI is not just a race to the top in terms of innovation—it's also about who sets the rules of the game. In this sense, Europe may not need to 'win' the AI war in the traditional sense but could instead reshape the battlefield entirely.