Stephen Calleja heads the editorial team at Standard Publications, publishers of the Malta Independent as well as the The Malta Independent on Sunday.
He considers himself to be “independent” so much that he did not bat an eyelid in accepting to present a TV discussion programme on the PN political TV station NET TV: l-Iswed fuq l-Abjad. Its independence can be attested by considering his choice of speakers and his myopic consideration of the issues discussed.
In today’s edition of the Independent on Sunday Mr Calleja speaks of “restoring Malta’s reputation” when discussing the consideration by the EU institutions of Tonio Borg’s nomination as John Dalli’s successor on the EU Commission.
Calleja’s point is that The Green’s criticism of Tonio Borg’s nomination and credentials will tarnish Malta’s reputation.
It seems that those defending Tonio Borg’s nomination, including Mr Calleja, consider that he has only one positive point, that he is Maltese and they expect all to rally behind this nomination on the basis of his nationality.
Calleja fails to give due weight that Tonio Borg has destroyed his own candidacy by his utterances and actions as a Minister. His actions on immigration when he supported Berlusoni’s agreement with Gaddafi’s Libya to send back immigrants to Libya to be tortured is compounded by the 2002 Eritrean refugee mishap documented by Amnesty International and UNHCR. Tonio Borg as Malta’s Minister for the Interior was responsible for sending back Eritrean immigrants. Some were tortured, others disappeared.
Tonio Borg’s utterances against tenancy rights of same sex couples during the rent reform debate in Malta’s Parliament may have been forgotten by Stephen Calleja. Calleja may even consider as unimportant the fact that Tonio Borg defied the referendum result and opposed divorce legislation.
In view of Tonio Borg’s record as pointed out above I do not consider that his nomination was the appropriate one.
When Lawrence Gonzi, notwithstanding the above decided to proceed with Tonio Borg’s nomination he was gambling Malta’ reputation. He should have nominated someone else. There are plenty of suitable candidates amongst Malta’s 404,000 population.
It is on Lawrence Gonzi’s doorstep that Stephen Calleja should direct his criticism. But obviously, as he is “independent” he will find considerable difficulty in doing so.
Blog ta' Carmel Cacopardo 
The point about the referendum vote, often made also against Gonzi is not tenable. The referendum vote was not binding on anybody; the parliamentary vote was supposed to be ‘free’. Furthermore, retreating a little bit from that level, three constituencies voted against divorce. As MPs are elected by constituency here, at least all PL MPs from those constituencies went against the majority verdict of their constituents. The one fault I would attribute to Gonzi in this matter was that he hoped to evade the issue by FIRST putting it to referendum, in the belief that it would go against divorce. As has become usual, he miscalculated. The ‘correct’ procedure was the ‘Italian’ one: a parliamentary debate and decision. Then the result could be challenged by referendum.
Jidher li aktar ma jilghaqu srum aktar jilghabuha tal-‘indipendenti’. L-ewwel hammgu l-kuncett ta’ ‘flimkien’ kollox possibbli…issa ser ikomplu jhammgu l-kelma ‘indipendenti’.
Ezempju ta’ arroganza liema bhalha.
Carm,
you have to keep in kind that certain words have got different meaning in this country, such as ‘accountabilitiy’ and ‘independent’!