Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/278185
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 MARCH 2014 Interview 15 Do you feel you have failed in convincing the EU that burden sharing should be mandatory? I proceeded according to the La- bour party's electoral manifesto. I am aware of that. My question was whether you felt you failed when you approached the EU. None of that was in the manifesto. What is in the manifesto is the des- tination we want to reach. We now have a task force in the Mediterra- nean but there is more that needs to be done. There was a case of a Syrian man escaping Malta, one of the Lampedusa survivors, being apprehended in Italy and returned to Malta with a six-month prison sentence. Does something like that bother you? Of course it does. But it should bother the EU more. The EU impos- es more burdens on us with regards to similar cases – and rightly so – but on the other hand no one talks about the Dublin policy. If we do not do what is prescribed in that policy, we would be breaking EU law. There are some in Europe who are comfortable with this situation. On the decision of the European Court on human rights, which says that 18-month (a six-month extension to the 12-month detention period for failed asylum seekers) is illegal – what is the government going to do next? We follow what the Courts say but we also have to consider the viability of policies in our country and the ef- fect they will have. The Opposition will vote in favour of Coleiro Preca's nomination for president. Do you feel you made a mistake in not consulting the Opposition? You have been criticized for this decision. I proceeded exactly as Eddie Fenech Adami did. Do you feel you should continue in this way if you have another five years? I proceeded exactly as Eddie Fenech Adami did. Nominating Coleiro Preca means you have lost a minister who is more Left-leaning than most in the Cabinet. Did you do this to remove someone who is more 'Labourite' or because you felt she was the person best suited to the role? I feel she is the right person and I feel we have lost someone important from the Cabinet but we have gained a president. If you want to get rid of someone, you put him or her where they are not relevant. The president is very relevant. If Marie Louise had to say something as a minister it has a certain weight but saying some- thing as President of the Republic, it has enormous political weight. If an- ything, we have elevated that agenda, not removed it. Do you feel that giving the president the power to form policy was a sort of parting gift on leaving the ministry? It's not a question of a gift. It is a question of where I want the presi- dency to go. And in these five years, we'll be working within a system where the presidency is given the tools to work. Marie Louise has a lot to contribute. I do not see the role as ceremonial but as actively push- ing ideas, and we have given her the tools to make that happen. It is not a constitutional change but a political one, which I feel will have a huge im- pact on presidency in future. It will be a very interesting five years. You made a lot of promises in your electoral campaign. And I am keeping them. Among them is refunding those who lost monies in the La Valletta Fund. It has 2,500 investors. We will be keeping our word with them too. It seems like BOV is against this. I will not comment on that. The bank is an entity with private share- holders, the government has its policy. The government will keep its word to these people. But it makes a difference whether the bank or the taxpayer pays up. If the bank refuses to pay them but the government pays them to keep its electoral promises, do you think that is fair on the taxpayer? I believe that there is a solution. And I don't think it is the one you are suggesting. When in Opposition, the Labour party was critical of decisions that impacted the taxpayer. I refer to the case of Café Premier, where the government bought the establishment for €4.2 million. The company had not paid rent or VAT, had debts… It is a company that has rights over the property as well. When we were presented with this possibility, there were a number of considerations. First, it is one of main squares in the country (Pjazza Regina). There was concern from a number of entities about having a restaurant beneath the National Library, where so many treasures are housed. Experts were called in to assess this risk, as they had under the previous adminis- tration but nothing came of it. The government decided that, given the right price (and at this point an in- dependent evaluator was called in), we were ready to reclaim this place to protect our heritage and to use it as it was meant to be used. But are you not sending mixed messages to people passing through difficult financial times who are treated completely differently? My concern is not the company, but the premises. It is a historic place of national significance. Will people in similar financial situations encounter the same understanding from the government? It's not a matter of charity or un- derstanding. It is a matter of a busi- ness proposition that makes sense. In this case the government felt that this place, in one of the main piaz- zas of the entire country and sitting underneath the National Library, should not be used for just anything and that we could find a much better function for it. The situation in Libya is very serious. Do you think Europe is conscious of how serious the situation is? Very much so. It is very concern- ing. Europe is conscious, certainly. The question is not whether Europe is aware but whether or not it will re- act. And I do not think there is the will to react. From a security standpoint, the country is very close to us and we have no means to defend against any military troubles. What I can tell you is that we have spent weeks making contingency plans and putting them into place to react to anything that happens in Libya. As people who are familiar with Libya know, the political scene there is unpredictable and erratic. But we are prepared for any eventu- ality and are in talks with other coun- tries that have sought our help. I am hopeful – perhaps naively – that the situation will not escalate to the ex- tent that some experts predict. It may be wishful thinking from my end but I still hope that Libya can solve its is- sues internally. Your wife has been criticized recently for comments she said on women pressured to stay at home instead of seeking a career. How do you deal with that and what do you understand your wife's role to be? If you are in the public eye, being criticized is normal and should not be an obstacle. Of course one must un- derstand how genuine that critique is and why it was made. Oftentimes criticism is made with the intent to wound, not politically but personally. I see Michelle's role as something she is working very hard at. There was a question from the Opposition about whether my wife was being paid by the government. The answer is no. She is not paid by anybody. When I tried to find out why such a question came up, I was told that she works so hard and is so visible to the public that people suspected that she has a job with the government or is taking a salary. Michelle takes her role very seri- ously. She meets with people, with NGOs, is very empathetic and very passionate about her work. We do not model ourselves on others, we do not mimic anyone. This is how we are. We often say what we think and criticism does not bother us, as long as it is not personal or aimed at our children with cruel intent. We always strive to improve what we do. Both of us are at peace with this. On irregular migration: "One of the things [designate President] Marie Louise Colerio Preca and I have talked about is my concern about our detention policy – particularly when it comes to minors" On his wife Michelle Muscat: "There was a question from the Opposition about whether my wife was being paid by the government. The answer is no. She is not paid by anybody" MARIE LOUISE COLEIRO PRECA Whatever she says will have more weight, once she's President