Call for public apology over Cordina affair

The Malta Employers Association has called on those who questioned Gordon Cordina's professional integrity to issue a public apology.

In a statement, Joe Farrugia, the MEA's director general, described the whole episode as a pointless controversy that led to the unfortunate resignation of Mr Cordina from the National Statistics Office.

"It is a known fact that economists of his calibre and integrity are few and far between. It is, therefore, expected that the individuals who levelled the accusations against Dr Cordina should own up to this blunder and make a public apology to regain their credibility," he said.

Dr Cordina resigned as director general of the National Statistics Office after he was publicly criticised by the Malta Labour Party in the wake of statistical revisions carried out by the NSO. He cited the inability to fulfil his duties with the peace of mind required by his position.

Since then, the NSO management has declared it had never come under any pressure to manipulate statistics, while Eurostat, the European Union's statistical arm, has certified the correctness of the recent revision of GDP figures which had raised Labour's ire.

"The outcome of the analysis by Eurostat of the Maltese statistical data as submitted by the NSO leaves no doubt about the correctness of the methodology applied. The verification exercise completely exonerates Mr Cordina of any manipulation of the figures and it is expected that those who cast doubt on his professional integrity as one of the foremost economists in Malta should issue a public apology," the MEA said.

Mr Farrugia said the employers' association was following developments on the matter with great concern, as the implications of the accusations were of a very serious nature.

He added: "We cannot have a situation where we cannot trust the objectivity of data that is the basis of many business and policy decisions. In the unlikely outcome that Eurostat had confirmed the charges against the NSO, MEA would have been the first to call for the resignation of Mr Cordina.

"This incident should send a clear message that economics and propaganda do not mix. Political activists were too eager to jump the gun and sow seeds of doubt on the NSO, when it would have been a much more mature approach had they waited for the outcome of the Eurostat investigation before naming and shaming Gordon Cordina.

"In this instance, the smear campaign has completely backfired. Eurostat officials took account of the objections that were raised against the revisions and the conclusion fully backed the methodology that was used by NSO. This was no surprise as the NSO has for years provided a sterling service and the general perception has always been that it was detached from any sort of partisan manipulation," said Mr Farrugia.