If the events of 2008 could be summarised in 20 words these would be the ones: euro, Morena, elections, fireworks, hunting, Lourdes, Mamo, kidnapped, Muscat, buses, Simshar, Karl, Nicholas, migrants, MITTS, privatisation, St John’s, tariffs, Piano and shootout.
Euro – Malta adopted the euro on January 1, and the only hitch was that the Prime Ministerial ATM jammed on the night! EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and then Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi led a number of European leaders who came to Malta to celebrate the event on January 12.
Morena – Gozitan singer Morena won the Malta Song for Europe contest on January 26 and in May represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest. However her song, Vodka, failed to make it past the semi-finals.
Elections – The Nationalist Party won the March 8 general election with a relative majority. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi brought in many new faces in the Cabinet. John Dalli also returned to the front bench. Louis Galea was appointed Speaker. One of the pre-election controversies which continued to rumble on were plans for the building of an open-air disco on land belonging to Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in Mistra.
Fireworks – A man and a woman were killed when fireworks exploded in a garage in Naxxar on March 12, demolishing three houses and extensively damaging another two. The man had been producing the fireworks. The woman, mother-of-two Sina Sammut, was in one of the demolished houses. A clampdown on illegal fireworks factories and a tightening of the law followed.
Hunting – Spring hunting was temporarily banned following a decision by the European Court pending a final decision.
Lourdes – A Gozo church inquiry established that irregularities had taken place at Lourdes Home for children in Ghajnsielem. The home was later closed and the children transferred to other homes.
Mamo – Sir Anthony Mamo, the first President of Malta, died aged 99 on May 1. He was given a state funeral.
Kidnapped – Maltese oil worker George Scerri was kidnapped in Nigeria on May 23 and released unharmed 33 days later.
Muscat – Joseph Muscat was elected leader of the Labour Party in June after Alfred Sant resigned. Anglu Farrugia was elected deputy leader (parliamentary affairs) and Toni Abela became deputy leader (party affairs). AD Alternattiva Demokratika, Arnold Cassola succeeded Harry Vassallo.
Privatisation – The process for the privatisation of Malta Shipyards was announced in June. Most workers took up early retirement schemes. Enemalta also privatised its Gas Division later int he year.
Buses – Public transport operators went on a four-day strike in July over dispute centred mostly on liberalisation. There were various clashes and a number of drivers tried to storm Castille. The strike ended on July 17.
Simshar – While attention was focused on the bus strike, tragedy was unfolding on the seas. The fishing boat Simshar exploded and sank . Its crew of five survived the incident, but three men and an 11 year old boy, Theo Bugeja, perished as the days passed by without rescue. The boat’s owner, Simon Bugeja, who was the boy’s father, was rescued, barely alive, after seven days in the sea, on July 18.
Karl – Labour MP Karl Chircop, 43, suffered a brain haemorrhage on August 3 and died on October 12. Thousands attended his funeral.
Nicholas – On August 12, a magisterial inquiry concluded that the police did not commit any violence on Nicholas Azzopardi, despite claims that he had suffered blows at police headquarters, leading to his death.
Migrants – A record of 2,700 migrants landed in Malta in 2008. On September 24 the EU announced it had agreed on a voluntary burden-sharing mechanism.
MITTS – Investigations showed that 20,000 user names and passwords had been stolen from government computer servers at MITTS, IT Minister Austin Gatt told Parliament on October 14. The attack happened on September 4.
St John’s – Plans by St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation to build an underground museum raised a storm of protest.
Tariffs – The government announced steep increases in water and electricity tariffs which came into force on October 1. The trade unions, for the first time, held a joint protest demonstration. But divisions quickly resurfaced, with the CMTU accepting a compromise offered y the government. The MUT, which disagreed with the CMTU, left the confederation.
Piano – The government announced on December 1 that it has asked architect Renzo Piano to draw up plans for the rebuilding of City Gate and the Opera House site. The Opera House site will be occupied by the House of Representatives and a cultural centre.
Shootout – 11 people were injured when a man shot at the PN club in Mqabba on December 20.