Jason Micallef, Labour’s former secretary general, will head the foundation preparing Valletta to become the European Cultural Capital in 2018.
He will replace architect David Felice who has held the post for four years and whose appointment expires on May 15.
Mr Micallef’s appointment was announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Culture José Herrera during a press conference on the foundation’s Imagine 18 programme of events showcasing art and culture later this month.
A former secretary general for six years and an unsuccessful general election candidate, Mr Micallef was forced to step down in 2009 when Labour leader Joseph Muscat abolished the post and replaced it with that of a hand-picked chief executive.
Mr Micallef was then appointed chairman of the party’s media company One Productions. In January last year, Dr Muscat publicly thanked him for accepting not to contest the general election, only for Mr Micallef to announce his candidature a few months later to the surprise of many.
Mr Micallef contested the Mosta district in the last election but only managed to bag 576 first count votes.
His appointment to the V-18 Foundation did not go down well with some of those involved in the cultural scene, not least former culture minister Mario de Marco. When contacted he expressed his dismay: “Culture must always be above politics,” he said.
“I’m obviously disappointed at the partisan way in which the Labour Government is treating the culture sector. David Felice had been appointed for his experience within culture, his love for the capital city and his organisational capabilities... He enjoyed the support of the entire cultural sector and went about his task in the most non-partisan of ways...
“It is therefore disappointing to see a non-partisan appointment replaced by a most partisan one in the person of the former general secretary of the Labour Party.”
‘A project for everyone’
Dr de Marco said Labour’s pre-electoral promise of a Malta for all “keeps sounding even hollower”.
“This is not the culture change people wanted or ever expected,” he said.
When contacted, Mr Felice said he had submitted his resignation as all other chairmen of government entities had done following the general election but was only informed of the decision in a meeting prior to the press conference in which Dr Herrera announced Mr Micallef’s appointment.
“It’s the Government’s prerogative to appoint a chairman,” he said, adding that he had been asked if he wanted to remain involved in the project with a “pivotal” role for the sake of continuity. However, no further discussions were held on this role.
“V-18 is a project for everyone but it has to be well-led. It’s important for Malta because we can make the most of it if managed well,” he said, refusing to comment on the choice of Mr Micallef as his replacement.
Several attempts to contact Mr Micallef proved unsuccessful.
Last night the PN slammed his appointment as “the worst advert for our capital city”, given his lack of skill and knowledge, and accused the Prime Minister of using it serve personal ends.