TMID Editorial: Cleaning up
These past three years, Malta has played a role on the world stage. Malta was appointed to the UN Security Council, Malta also accepted a request to chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the President of the EU Pa
These past three years, Malta has played a role on the world stage. Malta was appointed to the UN Security Council, Malta also accepted a request to chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the President of the EU Parliament was occupied by a Maltese MEP.
Recently, it was also announced that Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg will chair the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group.
During this period, the international community has had to deal with major issues, such as Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine, and the conflict in the Middle East involving Israel, Hamas and later Lebanon.
It wasn't an easy time, and these were all issues that Malta had to deal with at an international level because of the positions it held. Generally speaking, Malta was looked upon in a good light because of its work in the three aforementioned institutions, with Ian Borg as Chair of the OSCE, Roberta Metsola as EU Parliament President, and Vanessa Frazier as Malta's Permanent Representative at the UN.
It felt good to hear about the work by Malta's representatives in this regard. For instance, when the UN Security Council adopted a Malta-led ceasefire resolution regarding Gaza, and when Metsola braved a trip to Ukraine early on during the war. Yes, there was the occasional controversy here and there, but for the most part it has been a proud moment for Malta.
This is why it is of the utmost importance to ensure that Malta remains in the limelight for the right reasons. Doing so not only fills us all with a sense of pride, but also helps paint a good picture of the country abroad.
But these three instances follow on from a series of events that tarnished Malta's reputation, the biggest of which was the assassination of a journalist in Malta - Daphne Caruana Galizia. Let's not forget that a public inquiry had found the State responsible because of the atmosphere of impunity that it had created.
Then there were also examples of when government officials end up at the centre of corruption scandals that garnered international attention.
There are ongoing issues that do threaten to drag Malta's name into the international spotlight for the wrong reasons again.
For instance, one can look at Malta's so-called golden visa scheme. The EU Court may very well find that Malta has the right to continue such a scheme, but it is clear that, internationally, the practice is frowned upon. After all, it is the EU Commission that launched proceedings against Malta over this issue.
Another example could be the government's controversial persistence in opening the trapping season for songbirds under a 'research programme'.
But the biggest threat to Malta's reputation, undoubtedly, continues to be the constant flow of scandals that come to light. One after the other, it's an endless stream. Just mentioning a few of the more recent ones, one can find the driving license scandal, the security benefits fraud, the Identita scandal, and others. These all point towards a serious concern regarding the state of good governance and the culture that lies within the public sector. In order to ensure that Malta's reputation remains positive, the government needs to clean itself up.
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