Austin Gatt’s frankness is “refreshing” and Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici is “not particularly competent”, according to an assessment of ministers by the US Embassy when Cabinet was appointed after the last election.
The description is found in a leaked US Embassy cable, which had also noted positively the appointments of Tonio Borg and Tonio Fenech as foreign affairs and finance ministers respectively.
However, possibly the most notable reflection in the cable is a “blunt” admission the Prime Minister is said to have made with US officials that the elected Nationalist MPs offered “a limited talent pool” from which to select ministers that were matched well with their competencies.
Dr Gonzi had lamented about the competencies of his MPs with former US Ambassador Molly Bordonaro before the election.
The cable quotes the Prime Minister saying he wished it was possible to draw ministers from business or academia, something that is not possible in Malta.
The cable, published by Wikileaks, features the US Embassy’s assessment of the top ministers following the 2008 election.
It welcomed the appointment of Dr Borg as Foreign Minister, saying he had a “fondness for the United States”.
The cable described Mr Fenech as “a rising star” in the Nationalist Party, “perhaps even a future Prime Minister”. He had just been appointed minister after having served as parliamentary secretary in the previous Administration.
The Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici was said to be “more of an unknown” after having previously served as parliamentary secretary in the same ministry. “The embassy’s infrequent contacts with him at Ministry Justice Home Affairs left the impression that he was not especially competent or engaged and unaware of most issues on which the embassy worked with MJHA, though that may have been partially a function of the job he was in.”
On Dr Gatt, the ambassador wrote: “Gatt is sharp and ambitious, a minister we can do business with (despite an abrasive streak that rankles with some European ambassadors, we find his frankness and straightforwardness refreshing.)”