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Commission appointed without knowledge of senior officials
Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my way,” could easily describe the motto of PN Secretary General Joe Saliba, according to party activists.
It seems that Saliba has chosen to unilaterally appoint his choice of members on a commission to analyse the PN’s disastrous showing at the European election without consulting the PN executive council, and the administrative council, much to the chagrin of senior party members. Council members came to discover from the media that a commission had been set up, which included some surprise appointees.
Saliba’s decision has irked party officials in more than one way. His choice of journalist Godfrey Grima has raised several eyebrows.
Godfrey Grima was curiously picked up by the Labour Party to do the same thing: analyse the electoral result of 2003. Only recently, Grima’s close ties with Labour were fortified with his unabashed endorsement of former maltastar.com editor Joseph Muscat, today a Labour MEP.
“I’ll be doing Alternattiva Demokratika’s next,” Grima laughs on his new-found erudition on electoral losses. He will be joining the four-person commission made up of psychiatrist Anton Grech, Xarabank’s Abigail Mallia, and Frank Mifsud. Pietà Local Council secretary John O’Dea is secretary for the commission.
A stringer for London’s Financial Times, Grima plants little if no contributions for the Maltese press which he has derided for its lack of style.
Asked by MaltaToday whether his close ties with Labour and the endorsement of Muscat’s EP candidature makes his position conflicting, Godfrey Grima’s humour dampens:
“Not at all, it’s a complement,” Grima replies. “How warped do you have to be to consider this to be a conflict?” and a brief telephone conversation is ended.
Joe Saliba is satisfied with his choice of Godfrey Grima, who is seen to be too close to Alfred Sant whilst retaining a very good rapport with Richard Cachia Caruana, the controversial permanent envoy to Brussels.
“Godfrey Grima was chosen for his credibility,” Saliba says. “This is what makes the Partit Nazzjonalista dynamic and open. Therefore, no [his position] is not conflicting.”
The commission also includes Peppi Azzopardi’s assistant Abigail Mallia, also a TV presenter on Xarabank, as one of the key appointments.
She acknowledges her lack of political experience, which makes Saliba’s choice a curious one: “I am not involved in politics although I am interested. I followed the elections however,” Mallia candidly concedes. Talking to MaltaToday she also cited her experience in the media as one of the reasons for accepting to be on the commission, as well as being ‘a young person’.
Picking her brain for any first reactions, Abigail says there is much documentation and figures to go through before the proper analysis, due to be released in September, is arrived at.
“Honestly, I cannot comment,” Abigail replies to questions about the lack of communication between the PN and its grassroots, or the PN’s problem districts today. “I have certain ideas; every man in the street can give their opinion… there are many variations, and these questions are best made after the report.”
The other appointee is Frank Mifsud, one of Education Minister Louis Galea’s aides, and the man who is believed should have been credited with the 1998 PN campaign for which Joe Saliba won all the praise.
John O’Dea, a former MaltaToday columnist whose eager pen was stopped after being discovered to having plagiarised his pieces from the internet, says he has attracted some profitless contributions from the general public since the commission was appointed at the start of the week:
“Some people have a bad perception of this commission. Many people are phoning me to complain that ministers who must have promised them some favour have not delivered,” O’Dea complains. “This commission is here to look for the reasons why the election has been lost.”
Joe Saliba’s unilateral appointments come at a time when many party activists would like to point their guns in the secretary-general’s direction. Contacted yesterday by email on why these names were not discussed with the PN Administrative Council, Saliba denied and replied this was “not true”.
In a telephone conversation with Saliba yesterday afternoon, MaltaToday asked the secretary-general whether he had discussed these names beforehand with the Council, and whether he had found objections to his choice:
“I have just left the office and I will answer MaltaToday’s questions only by email. At this stage I am not at work and I find it unfair to be asked questions at this time. I will answer your question by email and you will receive an answer next week.”
With the PN reportedly suffering a record deficit of not less than Lm2.3 million, coupled with the worst electoral defeat since 1953 and dissent and morale at the Pietà HQ at an all-time low, many would have expected this commission to look into the role played by the PN secretary-general at this time, an observation which will be overwhelmingly difficult to materialise given that the commission appointees were Saliba’s choice.
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