Prime Minister Law­rence Gonzi is back-pedalling again. This time it is about confidential conversations disseminated through the Wikileaks phenomenon. Malta features in particular through what our PM had to tell two American ambassadors from just pre the 2008 general election until fairly recently. The ambassadors sent extensive reports to the US. That is their job, to keep their ears wide open, even to nudge for possibly juicy replies to their ever so innocent questions and to put it all on their record.

Maltese politicians would be naïve not to know how that game works. Dr Gonzi is not naïve. But he did seem to have opened up a mite too much to Ambassador Molly Bordonaro. He spoke to her on various things. Before the 2008 election he seems to have seen her as some sister confessor and spewed out about totally non- diplomatic matters. He referred to Nationalist MPs as a limited talent pool. That was not very complimentary, coming from the leader of those MPs.

It might have explained why he appointed a smaller Cabinet than usual. But he was to go on to contradict that by offering practically all his backbenchers appointment as parliamentary assistants.

It now becomes even clearer that he did that purely to try to quell a worrying rebellion, with taxpayers funding a partisan move, never suspecting that it would someday be revealed that he assessed them not to be very talented.

The OPM propaganda machine has not tried to contradict Miss Molly. Rather, the Prime Minister huffed that certain elements within the media had indulged in spin of what he had said. And he went on to offer context, making it palpably worse for himself. He stated that it was clear from the Molly cable that he was not in any way discussing individuals, but “explaining” Malta’s constitutional provisions on the appointment of ministers. He pointed out that, contrary to the US, under the Maltese system the PM can only appoint ministers from among MPs.

I am sure that Ms Bordanaro will not enter the fray to take the PM up on that one. What he said about the difference between the US and Maltese constitutions was totally unnecessary as far as she was concerned. American ambassadorial nominees are expected to know all there is to know about the country they are to be assigned to. They are interrogated minutely before being endorsed. A former American diplomat told me that, among other things, he was asked what was the pig population in Malta. If a diplomatic candidate is expected to know that – my friend did – he/she surely is expected to be aware of the basics of the Maltese Constitution.

Dr Gonzi slipped up on that one, no doubt about it. That was eloquently pointed out to him by former Minister Jesmond Mugliett, whom Dr Gonzi had not reappointed in 2008, only advising him of his effective sacking through an SMS. The ex-minister said that former PM Eddie Fenech Adami had found it possible to form effective cabinets with the talent at his disposal.

Prime Minister or not, one can say a word too many, especially in what seems to be the cosiness of a private conversation. Rather than try to bluster his way out of it by accusing the media of spin, Dr Gonzi might find the humility to admit that.

It was not all bad, though, in terms of context. The cable revealed by Wikileaks quotes the Prime Minister as saying he wished it was possible to draw ministers from business or academia, something that is not possible in Malta. That reflection goes beyond a slip about available MP talent.

It might be worth discussing whether we should introduce a change whereby a limited number of ministers, say up to three, could be appointed from outside the House of Representatives. They would sit in the Cabinet and the Prime Minister would be accountable to the House for their actions. There is also the alternative of a second chamber, coupled with a smaller House. But that would probably be too intricate to bring about.

My first suggestion is practical and could add value to the Cabinet. Former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff experimented with a version of it when he gave a non-voting place to GWU representatives.

Prime Minister Gonzi is actually implementing a clearer version through the role of Richard Cachia Caruana, who formally attends Cabinet meetings and plays a function in the general government far beyond his official position as our man in the EU.

Rather than tinkering with the idea, our political parties could do worse than discuss how it can be formalised.

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