Dom Mintoff to appear on Xarabank

Former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff will be one of the first guests of the popular TVM programme Xarabank, which is to re-start on Friday, September 27.

Xarabank's presenter Peppi Azzopardi told The Sunday Times that Mr Mintoff was invited to explain his position on European Union membership and that he had accepted yesterday.

"We were confident that Mr Mintoff would accept our invitation, as he had previously shown interest in participating in Xarabank. Mr Mintoff has already used the programme before when, in 1998, he had sent former Labour minister Joe Grima to announce that he (Mr Mintoff) would be calling a press conference to explain his position on the Cottonera project," Mr Azzopardi said.

The last Broadcasting Authority survey has shown that Xarabank had an unparalleled viewership of 174,000 watching the programme regularly. This is more than twice as much as the most popular programmes on other stations.

Mr Azzopardi said this was because Xarabank was the only programme which lets anyone air his/her views.

"As such, we encourage the public to make use of this powerful tool and to come forward with anything they wish to bring into the open, be it positive or negative. Xarabank belongs to the people," he said.

Mr Azzopardi is aware that the next issues of Xarabank will be on air over a crucial period of time.

"2003 holds in store a national referendum and the general election. These bring with them a number of very important discussions. Xarabank will be dedicating one programme to each of the three political parties' electoral programes. Besides discussing their proposals, we will be pressing for explanations on how they will make them happen."

Asked about the current Labour Party boycott, Mr Azzopardi said: "I have already publicly declared that if any particular Xarabank programme or sample thereof, was studied by a competent group of people in the media and found in some way to be biased in favour of the present government, I will stop doing Xarabank.

"I have not made such a bold statement lightly. I am 100 per cent convinced of what we, as a team, have produced. So far, we have had no reaction."

Asked whether he thinks the boycott will be lifted, Mr Azzopardi said: "I sincerely do not know. I have met many members of the MLP who do not agree with the boycott.

"Many have expressed the opinion that the MLP is losing a priceless opportunity to present their views through, undisputedly, two of the most popular programmes on the Maltese islands. The MLP is boycotting Where's Everybody, which also produces Bondi+.

"The coming referendum and election are too important for the MLP to forego its participation in such programmes. As always, Xarabank will stand fast to its principles and the programme dedicated to the MLP's agenda will be aired regardless. We will still be asking the same questions we would ask if MLP members were present," Mr Azzopardi said.

He said Xarabank would be continuing in its quest to present varied and interesting topics.

"We do not want politics to dominate the whole series of 39 programmes! After the success we have had with hypnotist Alan Bates, we had an overwhelming number of requests to bring him back. We are also looking at various international artists to perform incredible feats never seen on the island.

"We are planning what promise to be two extremely interesting programmes focusing on Eddie Fenech Adami and Alfred Sant. There will be one condition: no partisan politics are to be mentioned during the programmes! In this way, we hope to see the other side of these political leaders," he said.

Asked whether Xarabank would undergo any changes in its format, Mr Azzopardi said that instead of the televoting, viewers will be voting for humorous home videos or talented competitors, with incredible prizes for the overall winners.

"The already popular satirical segments will also have a stronger presence. Of course, there are plenty of surprises coming up, but we prefer to leave it at that for now!" he said.