Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/997322
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JUNE 2018 INTERVIEW What do you think was the major achievement of Valletta 2018 so far? As with any other large pro- ject, Valletta 2018 is not about one or two specific achieve- ments. There will be many of them. But if I had to choose our biggest achievement, I would say it is the engagement of the public over the past five years. I am referring to the en- gagement of the government authorities, general public and the private sector which has transformed Valletta, by stim- ulating the economic, cultural and social regeneration, from a nearly dying city to a vibrant one. Today Valletta is full of life, cultural events, invest- ment and people having fun. We can finally say that we have a truly European capital. How would you compare Valletta's cultural events with those of Leeuwarden? It would be most unfair of me, being Chairman of Val- letta 2018 Foundation, to make this comparison. I think the major difference is that, in our case, it is a huge event of national scale rather than one only for the Valletta communi- ty, whereas the events in Leeu- warden are localised. While you may call Valletta 2018 a nation-wide festa happening throughout the year, in Leeu- warden's case there is a pro- found disengagement between the region of Friesland and the rest of the Netherlands. Recently you have been a target of harsh criticism both in Malta and internationally. What do you think is the reason for that? Well, any public official re- ceives supportive feedback from people who would ad- mire them and their work, but also there will always be criti- cism. And I think we should accept both. God forbid I did not accept criticism, even though some of the criticism you are referring to has been very unjust. I believe the re- sults of Valletta 2018 Founda- tion's work were positive and are there for all to see. I am sat- isfied with my leadership and glad that we've been going so strong over the past five years. With regard to your rather careless political remarks on the Caruana Galizia case… I refute that there have been any careless remarks from my end. I believe there is a person- al agenda against me propelled by a small group of people. This same group of people has been subjecting me to harsh criticism ever since the early 2000s, when I first stepped into the public eye, and there has been no change in their at- titude. The cultural sector where I work, believes and celebrates the freedom of expression. And I've been saying it all along: God forbid if we try to make rules and regulations on where it starts and ends, and who has the divine right to say whatever they wish and yet you cannot respond to that, because you hold a public of- fice. I hold full responsibility. I've never offended anyone – it's not in my character. So, I would defend anyone's right to express themselves even if they target me with harsh criti- cism, but then they would have to accept my response to that. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. I know it was quite a hullaba- loo, but the most important is the results of the Valletta 2018, which are positive for Valletta and the rest of the island. After the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the situation in the country has been tense. The international media turned its eyes to Malta, thus your remark which mocked Caruana Galizia's last words simply could not go unnoticed… I wasn't mocking the words of the late Daphne Caruana Galizia. I am a very passionate person. I am passionate about the work I do and I am very passionate to call myself Mal- tese. Now I refute this small part of our society coming on the streets with placards call- ing Malta a mafia state. I will refute that because Malta is no mafia state. So, in my comment I responded to that group of people to point out that there are many people in Malta who are happy. The situation in Malta is happy. Yes, the assas- sination of Daphne Caruana Galizia was truly horrendous, but that does not mean that Malta is a mafia state. When I was attending the cel- ebrations on St Patrick's Day amongst thousands of people, the situation was happy eve- rywhere I looked. So, I simply referred to that same small group of people who a couple of days earlier, during a pro- test in Valletta, were calling Malta a mafia state. And I be- lieve – I really do – that there is a strong majority who stand against this labelling. We have our misgivings, like any other country, but democracy works here. Your colleagues in Leeuwarden as well as a few well-known international figures also criticised you. Do you think this cross-border hostility has damaged your role as V18 Chairman? I believe I would never in- terfere into any local political issues of any country. It is ab- solutely inappropriate! Every country has its own political issues. God forbid if we were to intrude and criticise the unfortunate matters that hap- pen in the Netherlands or, say, Britain. So many bad things happen all the time all over the world. Should I, as Valletta 2018 Chairman, comment on something that is happening, for example, in Italy or Spain? I don't think that culture should delve into political is- sues of other countries. It is an intrusion and it does not benefit the collegiality. Bring- ing different cultures together is, in my opinion, a benefit of holding a European Capital of Culture. Such criticism harms that. Do you mean that these figures should have refrained from commenting on your remarks? Personally, I refuse to com- ment on internal matters of other countries. What they did is up to them. It was their opinion. On the other hand, we have so many strong col- laborations with other coun- tries worldwide. For instance, last week we had one of the largest Japanese delegations to ever visit Valletta, thanks to the strong collaboration that we have with Tokyo. This col- laboration is benefitting our cultural scene and many art- ists. You also received criticism from the Maltese cultural figures. The comments that you left on Mario Vella's Facebook wall seemed as though you were looking for another trouble. You were meant to say that Valletta 2018 sponsors the Earth Garden, whereas it has been going strong for 10 years. Do you think it is necessary for As chairman of the Valletta 2018 Foundation, Jason Micallef has courted trouble with outspoken views that were ill-suited for his role. But has the V18 boss learnt any lessons from the recent months of public spats? Now I refute this small part of our society coming on the streets with placards calling Malta a maf ia state. I will refute that because Malta is no maf ia state Living up to expectations? Raisa Galea