Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/448091
14 MALTESE politics can be a repeti- tive subject at times; and one mantra that consistently crops up is the state of the national broadcaster PBS. Times have clearly changed since the days of Xandir Malta, when former minister Wistin Abela once declared that the aim of the national station was to "foster a new Socialist generation". But the perception that State broadcasting remains a politi- cal weapon, to be wielded by the gov- ernment of the day, still persists… kept alive in part by the political parties themselves, which routinely inundate the Broadcasting Author- ity with complaints regarding unfair coverage. On paper, TVM has an editorial obligation to observe the norms of impartiality when covering "events of national or political importance". In practice, however this policy has consistently proved both trouble- some and elusive. But before turning to the minister now responsible for the national sta- tion, a word about the inauspicious circumstances that landed Justice Minister Owen Bonnici this hot po- tato in the first place. By now, the echoes of gunfire in Sta Venera have long died down. But the implications for the present govern- ment still linger. Labour was elected on the promise of greater transpar- ency and accountability… and this single incident, resulting in the dis- missal of a cabinet minister late last year, seems to have single-handedly raised the bar on public expectations of politicians. Has the fall-out from 'Mallia-gate' affected how ministers operate? "Yes, the bar has been raised," Bon- nici replies from across the table at the Justice Ministry in Valletta. "It was a very serious accident; but there were equally serious accidents in the past and nobody lost his job as a result. In this case, two people lost their job: not only the minister, but also the police commissioner. As a result of the minister being… how can I put it? – 'sacked' isn't the right word. Technically he was removed from office… but as a result, all his staff moved out with him. So yes, the bar has definitely been raised. This is what people voted for in March 2013…" And yet, now that the dust has settled, the entire incident seems to have had little effect on Labour's electoral advantage. At the time of this interview there were already in- dications to this effect. Our survey, published today, seems to confirm that Labour has lost nothing of its national majority as a result of an issue presented as a serious blow to its credibility. How does Bonnici ac- count for this? "I think it's because the prime minister took the difficult decision. I have been told by a very seasoned politician that when confronted with a choice between the easy and dif- ficult decision, always take the dif- ficult one because the easy decision will come back to haunt you. That is what the prime minister did. And it was a very difficult decision because it dealt with a colleague of ours, and therefore a friend. But the fact that Muscat took the decision… people out there said, 'OK, this guy is dif- ferent from the rest'. Hence the rat- ings..." Bonnici adds that the Opposition may also have mishandled the case. "I think they [the PN] are making a very crucial mistake. When they speak, they should refrain from try- ing to please the hardcore PN sup- porter, but should speak in a way that inspires hope in the people of a bet- ter future. For instance, when Dr Bu- suttil gave his speech in reply to the budget, did you notice that through- out his speech he never mentioned schools or education once? Because that is basic for me: a future prime minister should explain how our kids will have better schools, for instance. He didn't do that. He focused his entire speech on attacking each and every government minister: which is fair in a democracy, don't get me wrong. But it's not the yardstick by which Opposition leaders are meas- ured. The yardstick is that family with two kids, working overtime to try to make needs meet. Did he make a difference to how their life might be if he became Prime Minister? The answer is absolutely not. So I think they've got a messed up strategy, to be honest…" Perhaps, but let's stick to the gov- ernment's strategy for now. There is a slight inconsistency in Bonnici's earlier remarks. He himself just ad- mitted that the 'bar has been raised'. Yet part of the Labour Party's entire campaign strategy in 2013 was pre- cisely to raise the bar on such mat- ters as transparency, accountabil- ity, meritocracy, etc. The campaign projected the message that the new government would take political re- sponsibility more seriously. So isn't it also the case that Mus- cat's government got a wake-up call… a reminder that it had yet to deliver on those promises after al- most two years in government? "No I don't think so. In the 18 months he was minister, Mallia got a lot of things done: in particular with regard to drugs in prison. He was very tough on this issue. If you put everything in the equation, you will find that Minister Mallia was doing his best to move things forward. And some aspects of his portfolio did go forward…" Speaking of Mallia's portfolio, this has now been apportioned among the Justice and Home Affairs minis- tries. In the process, Bonnici's minis- try was enlarged to also include pub- lic broadcasting… and a 'reform of public broadcasting' was in fact one of the items in the PL's manifesto, significantly under the 'Democracy and Transparency' heading. Owen Bonnici has already declared that he would like to see the PBS acting as an 'impartial' voice in the community. So how does he plan to achieve this aim where so many have failed? "First of all, it is very difficult to de- fine impartiality. But when you see it, you will immediately recognise it. It's like beauty: no one can properly define beauty, but everyone has an opinion on what is beautiful…" That's an unfortunate analogy, when you consider that people's concepts of 'beauty' can often differ considerably… "The same is true of impartiality. Still, I do think the national station should be impartial: it should attract the trust of the people on the basis that what it says is without an agenda, and provide a service to democracy. Two things are crucial to achieve this: the people involved, and the actual structures which guarantee an arm's-length approach. Who are the people involved? I think that Minis- ter Mallia was very good in choosing people there. You have a chairman, Tonio Portughese, who I am sure no one can accuse of being affiliated with one party or another. He led ST Microelectronics for years – still leads it, as far as I know – and has undisputed managerial skills. There is Joe Sammut of Caritas, formerly also chairman of the Broadcasting Authority's editorial board. As CEO, there is Anton Attard, who comes from Net Television. As chairman you have Reno Bugeja, who I think attracts the trust of the majority of people…" Actually at least two of those peo- ple were not 'chosen' by Mallia: At- tard and Bugeja were already there in March 2013... "Yes, but they were retained under this administration…" Fair enough, but I think we all know that the problem does not lie so much in the people, but in the structures. Past reforms have not been particu- larly successful: and there doesn't seem to be any tried and tested for- mula guaranteed to achieve success, anyway. This is a problem for all na- tional broadcasters, not just Malta's. But here, matters are complicated by economies of scale. The BBC model, whereby the station is guaranteed financial autonomy through licence fees, cannot possibly work with such a small population. This raises the question as to what model, if any, can work in Malta… Bonnici however counters that past reforms did not work because they were not concerned with impartial- ity at all. "The most recent broadcasting policy was drawn up in 2004. I have been informed it was pretty much the work of [former IT minister] Austin Gatt. Some criticised it as be- ing the recipe in order to diminish the number of employees at PBS. Is it time for revision? I think it is. We have to revise our national broad- casting policy. I've been told by ex- perts – in fact the first thing I did was call Prof. Kevin Aquilina [dean of the Faculty of Laws, and CEO of the BA for 15 years] to ask him for advice. What he told me was that even the term 'broadcasting policy' is ancient: now they use the term 'media policy', as even PBS has more than just a tel- evision station. It has a website too. I think the time has come for a truly contemporary policy governing all aspects of the national station." OK, but how will this new policy differ from its predecessors? "Let me tell you what I told the BA board. You are talking to a guy who gets constantly criticised for court delays, but doesn't have the authority to speak to judges and magistrates to speed up their work… because they enjoy independence and impartial- ity. So I know what an arm's-length policy is, because I live it with the judiciary. This is the way forward for broadcasting: the less politicians are involved in the running of PBS, the better…. Yet it has always been the declared intention to engender a culture of political impartiality at PBS. As far as declared intentions go, Bonnici's vi- sion is not that new. What tends to happen, however, is that when elec- tions approach, governments find it increasingly difficult not to inter- fere with what is ultimately a super- weapon in the arsenal of any election campaign. Labour has yet to reach this stage: what guarantees do we have that Bonnci's own resolve will not likewise falter, when push comes to shove? "I think that politically… and I have to be careful how to word this… I think that when the PBS was used as a mouthpiece for the Nationalist government, it worked against the PN's interest. I think anyone in his right senses would conclude that, in the interests of democracy – but also in the interest of the party in govern- ment – it is better to have an arm's- length policy. I believe the PN lost a lot precisely because PBS was so pro- government at the time." To illustrate the difference in ap- Interview By Raphael Vassallo maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 JANUARY 2015 Beauty and the broadcasting INTERFERENCE I disagree that there is political interference in the judiciary. I think, despite all the criticism levelled at judges by the public – some of it correct, some not – no judge or magistrate has ever blatantly decided a case in order to please a government ARM'S-LENGTH I know what an arm's- length policy is, because I live it with the judiciary. This is the way forward for broadcasting: the less politicians are involved in the running of PBS, the better