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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 JUNE 2014 24 Letters Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. T he day after any election in Malta, the land where politics is the biggest sport, is no ordinary day. Yesterday's election is no exception. The election, as a result of the high-profile stupidly unleashed by the two party mega-media machines has turned into a do-or- die electoral test for both the two major political parties. Exceptionally, however, it would appear that the smaller Greens and a few of the more colourful independent candidates have won much attention and indeed praise from the average electorate. They are seeing a vote for the smaller party and indeed for one of the independents as an opportunity to dent, if not damage, the two party political systems which people are finally beginning to consider most offensive. The political stakes for the two party leaders and their parties are high. This is Lawrence Gonzi's first electoral test. His party fights this election without its traditional biggest electoral asset, Eddie Fenech Adami. His absence is clearly noticeable in the many strategic campaign errors committed. The obscene abortion attack on AD, the central campaign message of belonging to the biggest European grouping which failed to ignite any campaign emotion and the misuse of Net Television especially during Thursday nights' programme will long be remembered as blunders. It is a pity that candidates with such accomplished standing should have been let down by central office. Alfred Sant fighting yet another election after three consecutive defeats is literally fighting for his political life. Calls for his resignation are likely to become far more vociferous if he fails yet again this time round. If, however, as is possible, many a Nationalist voter tries out AD and as a result Labour surpasses the PN in first count votes, or even obtains an absolute majority, there can be little doubt that Alfred Sant will not only survive but may have placed himself in a better position to win the General election. The MLP campaign inevitably embroiled in contradictions regarding its U-turn on Europe, focused far too much on Alfred Sant and again not sufficiently on its candidates. The AD campaign appears to have hit a synch with the present national mood and was greatly helped by both errors on the PN side and on the credentials of its sole candidate. The mood appears to be in favour of protesting, to give the two parties a lesson. This willingness to punish is due to the feeling that the two party dominance has increased the country's problems, with their eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. Amongst the independent candidates we cannot help but reveal our opposition to Norman Lowell's xenophobia and extremist ideas that, if supported by close to a thousand votes in the election, will introduce a worrying novelty to local politics. Will it be 3-2 to Labour or 3-2 to Nationalists or will it be 2-2-1? As people place their bets, today promises to be yet another television viewing marathon for most of the population. The next few days promise to be exciting they could spell the beginnings of a new way of doing politics. No longer a sport, but symbolising the confrontation of ideas. On the other hand, the result could just mean more of the same. Support or… The revelations and the two accusations being made in regard to John Dalli, the Foreign minister, have attracted public debate and scrutiny. There can be little doubt that it is in the public interest that the alleged wrongdoing is scrutinised fairly and in full transparency. Most of all the issue, in the spirit of fair play should not be politicised. It is also of paramount importance that the issue is cleared up as quickly as possible. The revelations concern two alleged examples of wrongdoing. The first issue raised by Dr Alfred Sant, not coincidentally on the eve of the European elections, alleges that John Dalli used his ministerial authority as minister for foreign investment, to influence a decision taken by an Iranian shipping line to award a private, not Governmental, contract to a Maltese Company, whose directors and shareholders include members of the minister's immediate family. This allegation, immediately denied by the minister, was also categorically denied by the Iranian shipping line. To date, there is no evidence at all that the influence took place. If and proved that there was any influence there can be little doubt that it is a resigning matter. This in no way detracts from the fact that the setting up of such a company betrays bad judgement. It however brings into question whether members of the immediate family of a Minister are free to enter commercial contracts with private companies using the services of a Government owned entity. It would be in the interests of all concerned if guidelines relating to correct political behaviour drawn up by The Nationalist government in the early nineties cover such situations. The Prime Minister would be well advised to re-look at these guidelines. The second accusation, raised by The Times, not by Dr Sant, alleges that the foreign ministry is making its flight arrangements via a travel agency which is a shareholder in a Company whose directors include the Minister's two daughters and a former driver of Mr. Dalli. This practice is incorrect and a case of bad judgement. While in no way detracting from the seriousness of the allegation, it could be appropriate for a general analysis to take place to see if this has been a prevalent practice under all national governments both Nationalist and Labour. Yet again guidelines if not already approved at Cabinet level, regulating such matters are urgently called for. The Prime Minister is correct to collect information, to ask for more information, if available, to be passed on to him and to ask his Minister to give a detailed report. Collating of information is necessary in the interests of fair play. The issue is far too serious to delay a decision. We are fully conscious of the difficulties this creates for the Prime Minister as he investigates his competent Minister and former political rival for the party leadership. This indeed is his baptism of fire. In fairness to John Dalli enough time and facts have come out for the Prime Minister to decide on a course of action. His delays will inevitably be interpreted as a willingness to decide only after the European party elections. This smacks of political opportunism and possibly an attempt by the Prime Minister to use the Minister and the issues involved as scapegoats should the Nationalist Party fare badly in the election. The choice facing the Prime Minister is clear. He should either support his Minister or demand his resignation. The choice facing the Minister that is to abide by the conclusions of an inquiry should the Prime Minister decide to call one. In all fairness, John Dalli has, on a number of occasions, stated that he has nothing to fear from an inquiry. What is sure is that this issue needs to be cleared. The day after Editorial • June 13 2004 It seems that all media columnists and all newspapers are the same, creating stories to fill the pages. I always believed that Saviour Balzan was different but now I'm not quite sure. Reading his article, published on 1 June, I was very much disgusted. I do not think it is fair to label anybody by saying something that, in my opinion, is not true. Leader of the PN Simon Busuttil had admitted defeat at the very minute that it was evident Labour had the majority of votes and immediately congratulated Joseph Muscat on the victory. He also held a press conference. Where is the denial? I am sure that if the elections produced a different result – if the PN had received the majority of votes – you would have questioned it. Did you really expect the PN to triumph in this election, with or without Busuttil? I don't think so. Yet you continue to tear into Busuttil and his party. In that same week, after Therese Comodini Cachia had been elected to the sixth seat, you labeled her a criminal for her alleged involvement with Henley and Partners. However I read a statement from Comodini Cachia categorically denying any involvement. Please do not make me out to be a soldier of steel – I wish to be a sol- dier of reason and principle. If I am correct, this election was held so the Maltese could fill six places in the European Parliament. The result was three Labour and three Nationalist candidates. Labour lost one, the PN gained one. This result showed that Labour retained its strength and was considered negative by some, includ- ing Nationalists, who were expecting a miracle. They forgot the harsh defeat the PN suffered last year. Busuttil gave up a career in the EP to take com- mand of a ship that sank in 2008. Is there one honest person who expects him to turn that around in one year? I used to say that the govern- ment would be stabbed by its own weapons – the writing was on the wall before the 2008 election - but back then nobody listened. Until it happened in 2013. I wish that I am wrong but I believe it will take years to recover. Joseph Muscat Mosta Boosting research and innovation Research and innovation are one of the pillars for economic growth leading to increased competitiveness, further job creation as well as addressing societal challenges. Today, everyone is trying to come up with an innovative product or service or even with a new process or method. Thus, innovation is not only about a breakthrough but also about an improvement or enhancement of some- thing that already exists. Experience has shown that countries with consistently high investments in research and innovation tend to cope better with economic turmoil. Latest statistics show that the level of R&D Expenditure as a percentage of GDP for Malta has increased significantly in the last years, reaching 0.84% in 2012, compared to an average of 0.55% until 2010. However, the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014 published by the European Commission has classified Malta as one of the moderate in- novators, together with Croatia, Czech Repub- lic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain, registering an innovation performance which is below that of the EU average. It is important that Malta strives hard in this sector in order to raise the research and innovation profile. The Malta Council for Science and Technol- ogy is undertaking all the required efforts in order to create an enabling framework to generate further research and innovation. Since 2004, various research and innovation projects have been supported through Gov- ernment funds. However, the time has come to take a step further and help researchers and technologists to understand the importance of their research, the value it can possess and the impact it could have on society at large. The Council is launching FUSION, the R&I Programme; a funding programme which provides the funding for research and inno- vation, coupled with the necessary handhold- ing to enable researchers and technologists to turn their innovative ideas into a market ready reality. FUSION is supported through Government funds and will run from 2014 to 2020, with an average annual budget of €1.6million. FUSION is composed of two main pro- grammes - the Commercialisation Voucher Programme and the Technology Develop- ment Programme. These two complementary programmes are designed in such a way as to offer the necessary tools, mentoring and financial support to translate research results and innovation into commercial activities thus generating further economic growth and job creation. FUSION will aim at raising locally funded research and ingrain research and innovation at the heart of the Maltese economy to spur knowledge-driven and value-added growth and sustain improvements in the quality of life. FUSION: The R&I Programme will be launched on Thursday 12 June 2014. For fur- ther information visit www.mcst.gov.mt. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando Executive Chairman, Malta Council for Science and Technology Where is the denial?