In which J’accuse hopefully brings to a conclusion this week’s open discussion on the selection of a new Commissioner and tries once again to draw a number of conclusions and read a few signposts that have been dropped inadvertently by all concerned. read on… it’s a long one so coffee or tea is advised as a beverage of accompaniment.
1. The Criteria for the Election of a Commissioner
First of all, notwithstanding any disquisitions to the contrary that anyone may hold, I am not the Prime Minister and I have not worked with either Joe Borg or John Dalli for any period of time. The closest I got to any of them was listening in to Joe Borg’s Employment Law lectures which, thanks to Richard England and the lovely CCT rooms did not mean much to me as I could not hear a damn thing. J’accuse’s analysis on the choice of the Commissioner and motivations behind it is based on trying to understand what criteria the PM and this government use when choosing representatives abroad. What I think about whether Borg or Dalli is the better politician/Commissioner is frankly as relevant as whether I think Ferrara should pick Amauri or Trezeguet to head the Juventus forward.
I can tell you that right now I dislike Ferrara’s coaching methods – especially when it comes to formations and substitutions – but that, if you get the metaphor, is a judgement on Ferrara and not on Amauri or Trezeguet. So back to the choice of the Commissioner. We had a series of events that led to the choice and a series of events after the choice that seemed, at least in our minds, to point to the fact that Lawrence Gonzi PM made his choice based on inconvenience above all other considerations.
I can understand people like Fausto insisting on asking whether I would choose Dalli or Borg if the consideration were solely competence and I think I already answered that question. Borg has a proven track record and also carries the not too light advantage of having already won the respect of the Commission President, his peers and a big chunk of the Brussels politocracy -as well as the respect of the intricate part of the demos he dealt with over five years. Don’t take my words for it – take Patrick Tabone’s – a former employee of the man who only had words of praise for his sterling work and contribution in an open letter to Daphne that also features on J’accuse.
So yes, if there were no internecine warfare going on at Triq Herbert Ganado I would have absolutely no doubt that Lawrence Gonzi would have confirmed Joe Borg. Instead we had to have what the Romans called the promoveatur ut amoveatur – promoting someone to get him out of the way. Yes we are not inventing the wheel. It has been done before by many other governments and it will be done again. There is no escaping the fact however that this choice, this time round, is based on inconvenience and not on other matters. Lawrence’s uncomfortable bedsharing with Dalli far outweighed the benefits of keeping on a respected Commissioner for another term.
2. The Gravy Train Bouillabaisse
The second huge corollary of this event is that the war at Triq Herbert Ganado is now uncontrollable, messy and about to result into a lot of doo-doo spreading all over the sponsored painted walls of the spanking new Dar Centrali. The stupid (for there is not other word for it) and petty manner in which the whole “gravy train” business was dragged out as the basis of what has now become a standard character assassination exercise in order to clumsily attempt to distract from the “pushing upstairs” business is a clear demonstration how unity and consistency is the last thing on the PN agenda.
The castle was crumbling apart and “the RCC/Gonzi clan vs the Dalli clan” debacle got messily uncontrollable. Joe Borg was an unfortunate sacrificial victim and the moment he dared open his mouth to complain on the abrasive mishandling he became fair game for the usual set of guns. No holds are barred at this point and what is worst is that the immediate rage of the battlefield risks producing an infinite repertoire of quotable masterpieces produced by persons shortsighted enough to not see the bigger and long-term consequences of their actions.
They had no qualms about denigrating the reputation of important positions within the EU structures – ignorantly linking “gravy train” politics to the likes of Joe Borg (and indirectly to the likes of anyone who will in the future hold the post of Commissioner – unless of course you fall for the ridiculous taunt of “proper breeding”). In their rush to get rid of the uncomfortable confessor they sent John Dalli and most of his clan to Brussels. Even Saviour “Independent Journo” Balzan resigned from Maltatoday and is probably regrouping in Brussels as we type.
3. The PN Futures (trouser-leg of time or just pants?)
Dalli’s exile might bode well for the Gonzi clan for the time being but just press on the fast forward button for a moment. Five years down the line a duly satiated Dalli could be posed to return to the scene and pick up the shambles of a possibly wrecked PN. Does that still sound like good news to the Gonzi clan? I would not know. I cannot even be sure whether the PN loss at the next elections is guaranteed – not with Joseph Muscat’s current levels of performance.
The bright side to all this is that an angry Joe Borg could bide his time and bring back some of his expertise to the fold. Is it too late for that? Will the PN as it is currently geared prove a fertile feed for an ex-Commissioner who is probably brimming with new amnd fresh ideas from the continent? We have good reason to doubt that there will be a welcoming crowd for that kind of internal change. The PN machinery is currently oiled on value-less cutthroat competition clumsily serviced by masters of spin and hopeless plannning. It is very possible that Joe Borg is perceived as a threat and not a bonus (always assuming that Borg even feels like re-entering the fray).
Final Observations
All in all it’s been a messy choice. The dittering and dragging on until the final choice was made did not bode well. The signs of the criteria for which the choice was made are not encouraging. The messy circus on and around the final designation of commissioner captained by the ridiculous spinmeister frenzy was frankly such an embarrassment to the party that the sooner it is forgotten the better.
One reply on “Borg-gate: The Order of Merit”
So in 2015, notwithstanding that he’s 66, that he can only become PM at the tender age of 70, that by then he might no more than a toe-hold in the Nationalist General Council, that the general elections would have been won and lost a year and a half previously, that the stint at the College (big pharma, GMOs and all that) might not be smooth, you still think that John Dalli could come back and haunt the Gonzistas.
Your speculations on the reasons for George Abela’s appointment had been pretty groundless; this time you’ve let your wishful thinking run wild.