Education Minister Evarist Bartolo’s declaration in Parliament clearly shows he only has himself to convince that he may run from the standards he publicly set for others. Shameful really, for I thought I was shadowing a gentleman’s work and not that of a fake.
He publicly declared that he was made aware that Edward Caruana was a problem on April 13, 2016. He also said he ordered his removal from FTS on September 1, 2016.
It took this minister five months to decide that his canvasser was not to be trusted despite repeated allegations being made in his regard by contractors as well as by Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools CEO Philip Rizzo.
This amounts to inaction, to sleeping on a problem. Amid allegations that his canvasser was meddling with public funds and abusing his public role, Bartolo played a cowboy’s wait-and-see game. Rather than take decisive action and remove Caruana in April 2016 (when his CEO implied this), Bartolo bided time.
First, Caruana was left in his same post, then he was moved to another office but insisted on fulfilling the same tasks. Rather than suspend him from office he was sent to another public office.
Bartolo’s hesitance to suspend Caruana immediately upon allegations coming to his attention, his hesitance and delay in referring the allegations immediately to the police, his misjudgement of the truthfulness of what his CEO was telling him, all indicate his reluctance to take action against Caruana. After all Caruana had worked for Bartolo “politically since 1992”.
A lot of things are amiss in this story but what is flabbergasting is that now that Bartolo’s mask has fallen, he expects everyone to naively pity him for being “betrayed”. I find his statement to this effect to be equal in value to that made by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici when he said he knows of no politician who says sorry and to that of Konrad Mizzi who declares he did nothing wrong.
What is flabbergasting is that now that Bartolo’s mask has fallen, he expects everyone to naively pity him for being ‘betrayed’
The value of these statements lies in the arrogance with which Bartolo, Bonnici and Mizzi think people are fools and this because they apply to themselves the law of the gods.
But remember that Bartolo is not a newcomer to the Cabinet. He was in fact also a contender for the leadership of the Labour Party. And he does not let us forget that his political experience makes him a cut above the rest.
His continuous pontification today is exposed as being nothing more than his ability to manipulate his voters by showing them what they expect to see when the reality is another.
And should you think that I am being very harsh on Bartolo, rest assured I am only judging him by his own beliefs. In the Insiter of August 2008, it was written about Mr Bartolo that he “deeply disapproves of Malta’s political tradition of winner takes all”.
“The winning party appoints boards and decision makers everywhere, and this is part of the mess that brings about cronyism, corruption and favouritism,” he is quoted as saying.
An honest politician would have stuck to his own beliefs but Bartolo has done exactly the opposite. He has appointed his own canvasser to a post he selected for him and in which he kept him for months despite allegations of corruption and whom he failed to report to the police.
Yes, minister, I agree that cronyism, corruption and favouritism is brought on by appointing persons of trust everywhere. This is in fact what you did with Edward Caruana.
You are therefore guilty of the defect you yourself despise. But in all of this, because it shows that there is no honesty in the words of wisdom Bartolo’s Twitter and Facebook accounts seem to churn out, it seems that even this minister knows no shame and will hang on to power.
It’s not like Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has any credentials to remove him, right?
Therese Comodini Cachia is shadow minister for education and employment.