TMID Editorial: Tourism needs a full-time minister

There is so much to write and say about the resignation of Clayton Bartolo from Tourism Minister. After resisting calls to leave office following the publication of a Standards Commissioner's report ruling that he (and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri) breached ethics when a consultancy job was given to Bartolo's partner (now wife) without her having the necessary qualifications, the gaffe-prone politician finally quit under the pressure of a second scandal, also involving his wife.

One of the effects of his resignation is the appointment of Ian Borg to take over the tourism portfolio. Prime Minister Robert Abela announced the move when he was speaking to journalists outside his office on Wednesday.

Borg has risen in stature in the Labour fold in the last years. As Foreign Minister, he played a prominent role as Malta serves on the United Nations Security Council, and he is also the chairperson of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Both positions will come to an end in the coming weeks.

Borg is also chair of the the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) for the next two years.

During this year, Borg was also uncontested for the Labour Party deputy leadership post following the resignation of Chris Fearne, a position that takes him closer to take over as PL leader when Abela moves aside.

But, until then, he continues to serve as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, and now is also responsible for tourism.

The tourism sector is one of the pillars of Malta's economy, but it is a delicate industry, one that needs constant attention, and in this sense it is quite weird that Abela picked Borg, knowing that in his role as Foreign Minister, he spends much of his time away from the country. The Department of Information frequently issues statements saying where Borg is and what he is doing to fulfil his duties.

Tourism deserves a full-time minister to take care of it, especially at a time when it has become clear that a change of strategy is required if, as the government has suggested, we should be moving away from quantity and towards quality. A new way of thinking and approach is needed, one that necessitates a minister who is hands-on in this changeover. Having tourism as just a part of the many responsibilities Borg has in his portfolio means that, on the political front, Abela has opted to give tourism much less importance than it deserves.

This opens up another issue - the decision to assign tourism to Borg means that the Prime Minister does not think highly of his parliamentary secretaries and backbench MPs. Abela has preferred to overload Borg with a massive ministry rather than promote a junior minister or a backbencher.

He has also preferred not to reshuffle ministries, having already done so at the start of this year. Probably he chose this so as not to further destabilise a government that is showing signs of fatigue and a party that is losing support and struggling after the June election results.