As airlines competed with volcanic ash clouds and blizzards in 2011, Malta had its own storms on the ground. Herman Grech takes a look at those who rode the waves and the ones who hope for a change of fortune.
A good year for:
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando
Just when you thought the Mistra debacle would have dealt a fatal blow to the outspoken dentist, Dr Pullicino Orlando came up with his trump card. Surprising even his own colleagues, he forced the divorce issue onto the national agenda by presenting a Private Members’ Bill – putting him at the forefront of the right kind of political debate once again.
Marco Cremona
The hydrologist made the headlines in 2011... at the bottom and on top of the world. One week, the authorities were being urged to heed Mr Cremona’s stark warnings about the depletion of ground water, the following week the engineer made history as he became the first Maltese man (together with two others) to climb Mount Everest.
Tiffany Pisani
The stunning, unknown 17-year-old trotted onto Britain’s Next Top Model show and walked off with the award, several pouts and tears later. The win secured a number of lucrative modelling contracts for the twig-thin girl, and a guarantee of babies called Tiffany in the foreseeable future.
Andre Schembri
Malta’s international midfielder took over Michael Mifsud’s baton as the island’s finest sporting export. Despite an injury at the beginning of 2010, Mr Schembri is having a fine season with Hungarian giants Ferencvaros, netting not one, but two hat-tricks so far.
Sex abuse victims
After seven long years waiting for justice, several men who were allegedly abused by priests at the St Joseph Home pushed their case to the top of the agenda and even had a private audience with the Pope during his visit to Malta last April. Their claims are currently being investigated by the Vatican. The developments have helped bring some form of closure to the victims.
Norman Darmanin Demajo
After years of wrangling with incumbent Malta Football Association president Joe Mifsud, the man affectionately known as Dede was last August overwhelmingly approved as new football boss. Many believe he is the right man to revamp a local game which has hitherto often made a name for scoring goals... in its own net.
Ivan Grech
The Winter Moods frontman crowned another successful year with a critically-acclaimed album, a bumper crowd for the band’s concert at the Granaries, and secured the Best Songwriter award at the recent Malta Music Awards. A solo album beckons in 2011.
Boiler No 7
Only in Malta does a regularly dysfunctional power station boiler (often blamed for the nationwide power cuts) become known by all and sundry by its name (or number)... and earn a Facebook fan page with 6,400 members.
A bad year for:
David Gatt
The former inspector-turned-lawyer demanded in an interview last September that the Police Commissioner should resign, after a court ruled his dismissal from the force in 2001 was incorrect because the right procedures were not followed. Within weeks he found himself behind bars accused of involvement in major hold-ups and being exposed for his alleged adulation of the Mafia.
Nikki Dimech
Just months after being elected to the Sliema mayor’s seat (with a little help from MP Robert Arrigo), Mr Dimech became embroiled in bribery accusations and was subsequently charged by police. Other councillors were probed in what was a veritable annus horribilis for local government.
Joe Mifsud
The uncharismatic football association boss was booted out by an overwhelming majority of club delegates who felt Dr Mifsud had long extended his stay at the top of local football.
Joseph Cuschieri
Having been elected as the ‘sixth’ MEP in 2009, he still has no place in the European Parliament because of the drawn-out process to approve the treaty changes. Maybe he is thinking it was not such a good idea to give up his local parliamentary seat for Joseph Muscat.
The Qormi undertaker
The last thing on the mind of a Qormi undertaker when he locked his garage one dark October night was that he would be the talk of town the next morning, after heavy rains flooded his store. An online video showing coffins being carried downstream became the butt of thousands of jokes. The Qormi undertaker wasn’t laughing – he claimed he lost €250,000!
George Abela
After a good start to the presidency, Dr Abela had public fallings out with the NGO Commissioner as well as with his secretary – whom he effectively dismissed. He then suffered a nasty back injury in China which kept him out of office for several weeks. His year was, however, bookended by two very successful L-istrina events.
Fireworks factories
The Għarb fireworks factory disaster in September, which decimated an entire family, only served to reaffirm that fireworks factories are too prone to explosions – which cause damage to property, maim and kill people in their vicinity.
Sandro Chetcuti
The contractor and GRTU official made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he was charged with brutally assaulting GRTU boss Vince Farrugia. The court heard the alleged attack was prompted by a text message erroneously sent to Mr Farrugia.