Interview with Gonzi raises more questions than answers
Power cut leads to two separate interviews with Prime Minister, but allegations that Gonzi had changed his answer on the proposed cabinet extension were rubbished by Sunday Times editor Steve Mallia
Panic reigned yesterday evening at both Castille and The Times, over enquiries made by this paper into allegations that there were “two versions” of an online interview with the Prime Minister, interrupted by last Tuesday’s nationwide power outage, and that the re-take recorded on Saturday morning was slightly different from the original.
The issue revolves around what the Prime Minister said on Tuesday morning while being interviewed on camera by Sunday Times editor Steve Mallia, who originally asked Lawrence Gonzi about his present cabinet, and his prospective plans for an eventual reshuffle, possibly by enlarging it.
It is understood that the power outage occurred while the Prime Minister was delving into the issue, and referring to his electoral promise of having a small cabinet.
As minutes rolled by without air-conditioning, the Prime Minister was visibly uncomfortable while replying to Steve Mallia’s question.
At one point, a cameraman and visual consultant Anton Attard, concerned with the dampening effect of the June heat on the PM’s image, rushed to assist in connecting to Castille’s power generator. Meanwhile the tape rolled on until its own power supply ran out; and the last recorded words of the Prime Minister (still talking about his cabinet) were “we are now…”
By this point a decision was taken to reschedule the interview for lack of power and air conditioning, and the Prime Minister left the Ambassadors’ room and returned to his duties inside his office in Castille.
Sources meanwhile have also confirmed that on Castille’s insistence, a re-take of the interview was done on Saturday morning in the same place and using the same set-up. However, the Prime Minister reportedly changed his tune on the subject of cabinet, and – in the version that made into print – categorically denied the eventuality of any change to the current structure of Ministers.
A series of calls made by MaltaToday to the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday irked senior officials who curtly replied to our questions regarding the different versions.
“Your allegation is completely false. You should check your facts.,” was the reply that was forwarded by email to MaltaToday by the Prime Minister’s media office.
However, when also contacted by this paper, Sunday Times editor Steve Mallia first insisted that what we were saying was “rubbish”, but then finally admitted that a re-take of the interview was indeed made on Saturday.
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