malsey
27thJune2005, 22:30
this guy although has his wrong attitudes can be the only salvation of Malta. He gives a fuck of what the purcinelli tal media say, of what the do gooders say, and sometimes even what the prim will say.
I want to see him instead of dolores cristina. imbad naraw kemm jibqa kulhadd jitnejjek bil gvern, u tinbidilx il mentalita li nincentivaw il ghazzien.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2005/06/26/t12.html
Gatt’s electric chairs
How far does a man like Austin Gatt go? KARL SCHEMBRI and JAMES DEBONO delve deeper into the one Nationalist minister who is the party’s hard man.
One chairman and chairwoman after another, Austin Gatt descends on the heads appointed by himself and by his predecessors like an unexpected hurricane and, more often than not, the wreckage he leaves is there to stay.
The man who as Justice Minister had antagonised lawyers and the judiciary in his sweeping reforms that raised court fees to unprecedented levels can be deadly with his discretionary ministerial powers.
Back in September 2001, his impeachment motion to remove Judge Antonio Depasquale after the latter just failed to go to work on a point of “principle” for seven whole years but still received around Lm100,000 in wages was turned down by the Opposition. He needed a two-thirds majority in Parliament to sack a judge, and he didn’t manage.
But chairpersons are something else altogether. Appointed directly by the ministers with no constitutional safeguards, they are expendable. Under Gatt, a state company chairmanship is no career at all unless you find the right antidote to his rough manners.
Austin’s powers
His first firing started at the national broadcasting station, PBS, where he unceremoniously removed Austin Sammut in 2003 – appointed by Louis Galea and having served for only six months – to appoint a new chairman, Michael Mallia, who would last for 15 months and would be sacked in the critical stages of Gatt’s bulldozer restructuring last year. The Managing Director of Vodafone Malta, Joe Grioli, had turned down the offer before Mallia.
The restructuring of the public broadcaster proved to be least politically controversial given the Opposition’s blessing for the exercise that all but dismantled PBS, with staff cut down from 180 to around 60 and the scrapping of Radju Bronja, but the problems created by Gatt’s restructuring are now the constant headache of Chairman Andrew Agius Muscat – the 30-year-old manager of a food processing factory appointed last October – particularly the inability to find a news manager for the station, but also the loss of some of the most experienced staff members.
Michael Mallia was forced to resign by Gatt although the exact reasons why remain a mystery between the two men – the minister had only vaguely referred to “certain decisions” taken by Mallia “that are not in line with ministry policies”.
On the other hand Agius Muscat must have captured Gatt’s spirit when he said in the same week of his appointment: “I didn’t join PBS to come out at 60”. In return, Gatt defended his choice of Agius Muscat by rubbishing his critics as “intellectual snobs” who understand nothing about management.
The main problem with PBS is that Gatt, as minister of investments, has always treated it as a company that has to be trimmed to the bone, and ideally privatised, with its broadcaster’s mission statement coming in only as an afterthought.
Privatisation – the shedding of government assets while absorbing all the debts and problems – is perhaps Gatt’s way of asserting his powers, and nobody should wonder why so many resignations are related to his selling frenzy.
With the “resignation for personal reasons” formula it is difficult to get the real reasons behind such important changes of the guard in public – Marlene Mizzi was an exception who decided to go all the way in her opposition to privatisation by snubbing Gatt and sending her resignation letter to the prime minister, and the media.
Last November, former Bank of Valletta Chairman Joseph F.X. Zahra had denied that his resignation was linked to his opposition to the government’s imminent sell-out of all its bank shares when asked by MaltaToday, on the same day that the Sunday Times reported the opposite.
The PN hard man
Austin Gatt is in many ways a quintessential Nationalist. His confrontational style, abruptness and neo-liberal beliefs set him in class of his own in the PN.
He is someone in a cabinet full of political has beens. He is an asset for his determination to take decisions but his arrogant streak can make him an electoral liability.
As Justice Minister he displayed no “social conscience” qualms when he increased court fees to cut down on court litigation. Now he has no qualms in selling Sea Malta and picking a potentially damaging fight with former Sea Malta Chairman Marlene Mizzi.
He can also boast of having served the party in the turbulent 1980s. In fact he is credited with creating the party’s machine in the 1980s. This gives him a lot of legitimacy in his party. In a recent speech at the last PN general council he constantly referred to Eddie Fenech Adami’s leadership in the 1980s.
In the aftermath of heavy losses in last March’s local election, his speech was met by a massive round of applause.
By playing the role of a neutral in last year’s leadership contest he has emerged unscathed from the fallout of the clash between Gonzi and Dalli. On the eve of the contest Austin Gatt went as far as nominating both candidates. Keeping Austin Gatt on board could be one of Lawrence Gonzi’s considerations in the controversial decision to sell Sea Malta.
In the event of a PN defeat in 2008, he could emerge as a potential leader who could reposition the party on the right wing of the political spectrum. In so doing he could give his party a Thatcherite rallying cry. While Eddie Fenech Adami’s obsession was posing in photos with the Pope, Austin Gatt’s photographic milestone was posing with the guru of 21st century capitalism – Bill Gates.
But Austin Gatt is definitely not the party’s Mr Nice Guy.
His Mintoffian streak might positively contrast the sloppiness of some of his colleagues.
Having had his political baptism by fire in the 1980s, he still projects himself as a political lion bent on destroying the enemy. His confrontation with Marlene Mizzi has exposed a dangerous trait in Gatt – that of criminalising the opposition. According to this logic, whoever criticises the government is in league with Alfred Sant to harm the country.
Austin Gatt’s aggressive style might go down well with the shrinking number of party faithful. He went on record stating that he reads the Kulhadd newspaper on the toilet. In parliament he is known for rubbishing his opponents through his frank use of the Maltese language
Wrath of Gatt
Like Mintoff he tends to shift the blame from the government by constantly opening new fronts. In the midst of last April’s gas crisis instead of assuming political responsibility he shifted the blame on gas cylinder distributors and the GRTU. Answering phone calls during a Saturday morning programme on Radio 101, Austin Gatt called on those who were still waiting for their gas cylinder to phone the GRTU.
His antipathy towards civil servants and government intervention smacks of American style neo-liberalism rather than sheer pragmatism. When ideology prevails over pragmatism the results could be counter-productive to the original design.
Although still owned by the state, PBS has been partially transformed into a teleshopping market. The decision to sell Sea Malta has raised the concerns of many in the private sector due to the company’s perceived strategic importance.
His turbulent relationship with government entities like PBS and Sea Malta can be partly attributed to an ideological aversion to state participation in the economy. But surprisingly the same determination to reform was not shown in Gozo Channel and Air Malta.
Austin Gatt has also insisted on absolute loyalty from those serving the government. Back in the early nineties while addressing the party’s general council he spelled it out clearly that people entrusted with implementing the government’s policy should enjoy the trust of the party in government. This could explain his stormy relationship with the chairmen of various government entities.
One of the greatest survivors in Gatt’s jungle is Chairman Lawrence Zammit of Air Malta – a management animal with a taste for business buzzwords and trendy research lingo so dear to the minister, who has put up with the massive restructuring at the national airline without much of a crisis of conscience.
On the other end, another one about to fall out with him is the current Chairman of Gozo Channel, Maurice Zarb Adami, who reportedly asked the minister not to be reappointed.
As a politician who has always demanded absolute loyalty to government from political appointees – particularly chairmen – Gatt is probably right in changing people on the hot seats whenever there is disagreement. But a look at the list of resignations and forced resignations of people under his portfolio makes you wonder whether they were all wrong.
I want to see him instead of dolores cristina. imbad naraw kemm jibqa kulhadd jitnejjek bil gvern, u tinbidilx il mentalita li nincentivaw il ghazzien.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2005/06/26/t12.html
Gatt’s electric chairs
How far does a man like Austin Gatt go? KARL SCHEMBRI and JAMES DEBONO delve deeper into the one Nationalist minister who is the party’s hard man.
One chairman and chairwoman after another, Austin Gatt descends on the heads appointed by himself and by his predecessors like an unexpected hurricane and, more often than not, the wreckage he leaves is there to stay.
The man who as Justice Minister had antagonised lawyers and the judiciary in his sweeping reforms that raised court fees to unprecedented levels can be deadly with his discretionary ministerial powers.
Back in September 2001, his impeachment motion to remove Judge Antonio Depasquale after the latter just failed to go to work on a point of “principle” for seven whole years but still received around Lm100,000 in wages was turned down by the Opposition. He needed a two-thirds majority in Parliament to sack a judge, and he didn’t manage.
But chairpersons are something else altogether. Appointed directly by the ministers with no constitutional safeguards, they are expendable. Under Gatt, a state company chairmanship is no career at all unless you find the right antidote to his rough manners.
Austin’s powers
His first firing started at the national broadcasting station, PBS, where he unceremoniously removed Austin Sammut in 2003 – appointed by Louis Galea and having served for only six months – to appoint a new chairman, Michael Mallia, who would last for 15 months and would be sacked in the critical stages of Gatt’s bulldozer restructuring last year. The Managing Director of Vodafone Malta, Joe Grioli, had turned down the offer before Mallia.
The restructuring of the public broadcaster proved to be least politically controversial given the Opposition’s blessing for the exercise that all but dismantled PBS, with staff cut down from 180 to around 60 and the scrapping of Radju Bronja, but the problems created by Gatt’s restructuring are now the constant headache of Chairman Andrew Agius Muscat – the 30-year-old manager of a food processing factory appointed last October – particularly the inability to find a news manager for the station, but also the loss of some of the most experienced staff members.
Michael Mallia was forced to resign by Gatt although the exact reasons why remain a mystery between the two men – the minister had only vaguely referred to “certain decisions” taken by Mallia “that are not in line with ministry policies”.
On the other hand Agius Muscat must have captured Gatt’s spirit when he said in the same week of his appointment: “I didn’t join PBS to come out at 60”. In return, Gatt defended his choice of Agius Muscat by rubbishing his critics as “intellectual snobs” who understand nothing about management.
The main problem with PBS is that Gatt, as minister of investments, has always treated it as a company that has to be trimmed to the bone, and ideally privatised, with its broadcaster’s mission statement coming in only as an afterthought.
Privatisation – the shedding of government assets while absorbing all the debts and problems – is perhaps Gatt’s way of asserting his powers, and nobody should wonder why so many resignations are related to his selling frenzy.
With the “resignation for personal reasons” formula it is difficult to get the real reasons behind such important changes of the guard in public – Marlene Mizzi was an exception who decided to go all the way in her opposition to privatisation by snubbing Gatt and sending her resignation letter to the prime minister, and the media.
Last November, former Bank of Valletta Chairman Joseph F.X. Zahra had denied that his resignation was linked to his opposition to the government’s imminent sell-out of all its bank shares when asked by MaltaToday, on the same day that the Sunday Times reported the opposite.
The PN hard man
Austin Gatt is in many ways a quintessential Nationalist. His confrontational style, abruptness and neo-liberal beliefs set him in class of his own in the PN.
He is someone in a cabinet full of political has beens. He is an asset for his determination to take decisions but his arrogant streak can make him an electoral liability.
As Justice Minister he displayed no “social conscience” qualms when he increased court fees to cut down on court litigation. Now he has no qualms in selling Sea Malta and picking a potentially damaging fight with former Sea Malta Chairman Marlene Mizzi.
He can also boast of having served the party in the turbulent 1980s. In fact he is credited with creating the party’s machine in the 1980s. This gives him a lot of legitimacy in his party. In a recent speech at the last PN general council he constantly referred to Eddie Fenech Adami’s leadership in the 1980s.
In the aftermath of heavy losses in last March’s local election, his speech was met by a massive round of applause.
By playing the role of a neutral in last year’s leadership contest he has emerged unscathed from the fallout of the clash between Gonzi and Dalli. On the eve of the contest Austin Gatt went as far as nominating both candidates. Keeping Austin Gatt on board could be one of Lawrence Gonzi’s considerations in the controversial decision to sell Sea Malta.
In the event of a PN defeat in 2008, he could emerge as a potential leader who could reposition the party on the right wing of the political spectrum. In so doing he could give his party a Thatcherite rallying cry. While Eddie Fenech Adami’s obsession was posing in photos with the Pope, Austin Gatt’s photographic milestone was posing with the guru of 21st century capitalism – Bill Gates.
But Austin Gatt is definitely not the party’s Mr Nice Guy.
His Mintoffian streak might positively contrast the sloppiness of some of his colleagues.
Having had his political baptism by fire in the 1980s, he still projects himself as a political lion bent on destroying the enemy. His confrontation with Marlene Mizzi has exposed a dangerous trait in Gatt – that of criminalising the opposition. According to this logic, whoever criticises the government is in league with Alfred Sant to harm the country.
Austin Gatt’s aggressive style might go down well with the shrinking number of party faithful. He went on record stating that he reads the Kulhadd newspaper on the toilet. In parliament he is known for rubbishing his opponents through his frank use of the Maltese language
Wrath of Gatt
Like Mintoff he tends to shift the blame from the government by constantly opening new fronts. In the midst of last April’s gas crisis instead of assuming political responsibility he shifted the blame on gas cylinder distributors and the GRTU. Answering phone calls during a Saturday morning programme on Radio 101, Austin Gatt called on those who were still waiting for their gas cylinder to phone the GRTU.
His antipathy towards civil servants and government intervention smacks of American style neo-liberalism rather than sheer pragmatism. When ideology prevails over pragmatism the results could be counter-productive to the original design.
Although still owned by the state, PBS has been partially transformed into a teleshopping market. The decision to sell Sea Malta has raised the concerns of many in the private sector due to the company’s perceived strategic importance.
His turbulent relationship with government entities like PBS and Sea Malta can be partly attributed to an ideological aversion to state participation in the economy. But surprisingly the same determination to reform was not shown in Gozo Channel and Air Malta.
Austin Gatt has also insisted on absolute loyalty from those serving the government. Back in the early nineties while addressing the party’s general council he spelled it out clearly that people entrusted with implementing the government’s policy should enjoy the trust of the party in government. This could explain his stormy relationship with the chairmen of various government entities.
One of the greatest survivors in Gatt’s jungle is Chairman Lawrence Zammit of Air Malta – a management animal with a taste for business buzzwords and trendy research lingo so dear to the minister, who has put up with the massive restructuring at the national airline without much of a crisis of conscience.
On the other end, another one about to fall out with him is the current Chairman of Gozo Channel, Maurice Zarb Adami, who reportedly asked the minister not to be reappointed.
As a politician who has always demanded absolute loyalty to government from political appointees – particularly chairmen – Gatt is probably right in changing people on the hot seats whenever there is disagreement. But a look at the list of resignations and forced resignations of people under his portfolio makes you wonder whether they were all wrong.