Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545285
THE wonderful thing about be- ing a journalist is being free to report what you see. Well, that is what everyone thinks, at least. It could not be further from the truth. The worst thing about being a journalist and being a media owner is that you must battle to get the stories and face the music when that story starts to cause heat. I have said that this election campaign was the calmest of all the elections I have experienced and been reporting on. But whenever an election is called, it is a veritable night- mare. As a media owner you must accept the abundance of messages or phone calls about reports, titles and angles in a news story that ruffle feathers. If it were not for the fact that this is my life, I would long have giv- en it a miss. The worst part of it is the ac- cusation that we are working for someone. It has happened ever since I have been active in the media and at election time the finger pointing gets nasty be- cause there is a lot at stake for everyone in the political field and around it. And then there is the after- math. Over the years, under every administration, the period after elections tends to be domi- nated by reprisals. It is a sad and terrible reality. But that is an ar- gument for another time. Meanwhile, the problem is that none of the political parties, despite the lofty ideals they es- pouse about freedom of expres- sion and journalists, accept the fact that a news story can em- barrass them or uncover their mistakes and flaws. To make matters worse, there is also the questions of our polls. Over the last two decades, the publication of the MaltaToday surveys has been lauded and derided by winners and losers alike. It is thankless job but we have soldiered on and will con- tinue to do so. The poll results in this electoral campaign were spot on despite all the vitriol that came our way. I fiercely defend the independ- ence and integrity of our jour- nalists at Mediatoday. We may not always be perfect but we do strive to offer a platform for fair reporting, analytical news and information. In this election, MaltaToday, together with its sister newspaper Illum, offered a truly independent and objec- tive view of where the political leaders stood and what their parties were proposing. The hundreds of thousands of views our stories received—running into millions over the course of the campaign—online is testa- ment to this media house's qual- ity journalism. Trash and myths I cannot really believe that there are still quite a sizeable number of Nationalists, who believe the trash and myths that are bandied around on social media. Some are in fact promot- ed by a handful of PN politicians or ex politicians. I am referring here to the myth that the Labour government fast tracked the citizenship of thou- sands of third country nationals, mostly Indians, who were then coerced into voting for the La- bour Party. It is unbelievable that I would have to mention this rumour, but it is amazing how many people believe it. The truth is that those Nation- alists peddling these claims are in denial. They cannot fathom that real people voted for La- bour. You may not agree with Labour, but Nationalists and more importantly those in the party's administration better start believing that the Labour project is still sexier and work- able than the one proposed by the PN. More importantly, they should accept that the people who vot- ed for Labour are not individu- als who were bought out. Yes, the PL did use its power of in- cumbency to massage disgrun- tled voters into voting for it but it would be absurd to believe that the 22,000-vote gap is down to this. The PN must accept that there were people who genuine- ly and unselfishly believed that the Labour Party was the better choice. Which brings me back to what the PN should be doing now. After years in Opposition, it is high time that party function- aries stop chasing ghosts and understand that it is not only charisma, good looks and self- ies that count but the need for people to believe in a dream that can become true. Chris Fearne The question about Chris Fearne's appointment as foreign minister is not about his ability to fulfil the duties of the role. The question is whether it is appropriate for someone who is facing serious criminal proceed- ings to be in that role. Irrespective of the general sen- timent that Fearne should have been the last person to be pros- ecuted over the Vitals-Steward hospitals case, we now have a minister who has to appear in an ongoing court case. It is true that Fearne was vociferous in Cabinet about the dealings tak- ing place behind his back by the big wigs in Joseph Muscat's ad- ministration. It is true that the top team at Steward saw him as a stumbling block and tried to dish out dirt on Fearne. It is also true that after the magisterial in- quiry into the hospitals case was concluded, the attorney general and the police failed to probe further and simply charged all those indicated as suspects by the magistrate. It is true Fearne got caught in the crosshairs, charged with crimes that were perpetrated behind his back and which he tried to challenge. Yet, the fact remains that he is still knee-deep in the judicial process, and anything can hap- pen, including experiencing a guilty outcome. Fearne had resigned his post as deputy leader and taken a step back from his nomination for EU commissioner in 2024 when he was charged. He hung on to his parliamentary seat but made it a point not to give any com- ments to the media. He had al- so refused the prime minister's offer to reconsider his position about the EU nomination. For his gentlemanly actions, Fearne earned plaudits. And when he did seek re-election, the sympa- thy vote was strong across both districts where he contested. But his position today raises some serious questions. Which criminal proceedings should bar a politician from standing in the first place and even becoming a minister? Where do we draw the line? Not to ask these questions would be a disservice. It is true that the PL has a clear mandate and a comfortable majority but we need to hear a logical expla- nation about Fearne's appoint- ment. More importantly we need to know what are the eth- ical standards that govern our elected representatives. Maximising talent Just like losers need to learn how to accept defeat, winners need to be magnanimous in vic- tory. This country has limited hu- man resources and Robert Abe- la, now at the helm of Labour's fourth mandate, should look out for competent folk who do not necessarily share his political views but who can help make the country's administration better. The success of every gov- ernment is the ability to harness capability and embrace it. The prime minister must resist the calls from within for reprisals and exclusivity. He needs to be prime minister for all—those who voted for him, those who did not and those who are un- moved by politics. 7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JUNE 2026 OPINION Behind the scenes and the next step Saviour Balzan Founder and co-owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster This country has limited human resources and Robert Abela, now at the helm of Labour's fourth mandate, should look out for competent folk who do not necessarily share his political views but who can help make the country's administration better On Wednesday Prime Minister Robert Abela posted to social media that he had formed his cabinet