More from Wikileaks: Ambassador Bordonaro on the post-election cabinet, March 2008

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RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1431″,”C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VALLETTA 000101

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, MT
SUBJECT: MALTA’S RESHUFFLED CABINET INCLUDES NEW FM
FRIENDLY TO USG

REF: VALLETTA 97

Classified By: PolOff MCummings for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1. (C) Summary: On March 12, newly re-elected Prime Minister
Gonzi announced his new cabinet. The new cabinet
consolidates twelve ministries into eight, with the aim being
a leaner and more efficient government. Of particular
interest to the US is the fact that the new Foreign Minister
is Tonio Borg, with him we worked very closely and
effectively in his prior role as Minister for Justice and
Home Affairs. End summary.

CLEANING THE DECKS

2. (SBU) Making good on a campaign pledge, Prime Minister
Gonzi announced a smaller and reshuffled cabinet on March 12.
Gonzi had promised to bring new faces into the Government,
and the electorate ensured he delivered on that promise,
since three former ministers were not reelected ) Foreign
Minister Michael Frendo, Education Minister Louis Galea and
Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea. By
consolidating several ministries, Gonzi’s new cabinet is
”meaner and leaner” (to quote the Times of Malta). There were
six former ministers and parliamentary secretaries that were
not appointed in the new government, with Gonzi opting to
insert new faces and promote junior ministers, like Tonio
Fenech at the Finance Ministry, as full ministers. In the
reshuffling, only Giovanna Debono, the Minister for Gozo,
remained in the same post. Of particular interest to the US,
Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg, who was the Minister of
Justice and Home Affairs (MJHA), is now Foreign Minister.

3. (C) Corruption charges played a major role in the campaign
and to prevent any stain on his new government, Gonzi opted
not to appoint certain otherwise popular MPs to ministries.
For example Jesmond Mugliett, former Minister for Urban
Development and Roads, had been accused of funneling business
to a construction firm he had set up. Another backbencher
MP, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, was involved in a land deal
that is currently under investigation. Neither was offered a
ministry. Due to allegations of mishandling of permits by
the planning authority, Gonzi opted to add the Malta
Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) to his own
portfolio — also a campaign pledge.

FOREIGN MINISTER: TONIO BORG

4. (SBU) The appointment of Tonio Borg as Malta’s new
Foreign Minister was welcome news; post has cultivated a
positive working relationship with Borg, who also serves as
the deputy Prime Minister and leader of the House of
Representatives. At MJHA, the Embassy worked with Borg on a
number of issues including Malta’s potential entry into the
Visa Waiver Program, as well as Refugee Resettlement Program,
and the implementation of the USG-funded PISCES Program.

5. (SBU) During his tenure at MJHA, Borg was under domestic
and international pressure due to an influx of irregular
migrants to Malta. Borg lobbied for the establishment of a
burden-sharing process among EU members to provide some
relief for Malta in managing what it feels to be a
disproportionate share of the migrant population. While that
initiative garnered a lukewarm response, Borg was more
successful in his lobbying for additional Frontex patrols in
the central Mediterranean to curb the flow of migrants.

6. (SBU) Borg has a fondness for the United States. In 1988,
before he was elected to Parliament, Borg participated in an
International Visitors Program (IVP) on the US Presidential
Elections; to this day, he closely follows US presidential
politics. Prior to his term at MJHA which began in 2003,
Borg was a practicing lawyer, specializing in human rights
cases. Borg was first elected to parliament in 1992 and has
been continuously elected ever since; in the recent
elections, Borg was actually one of six MPs to be elected in
two districts.

MINISTER OF FINANCE: TONIO FENECH

7. (SBU) While it was not a surprise, Tonio Fenech’s
promotion to Minister of Finance, Economy and Investment is
very welcome news. Fenech previously served as Junior
Minister or Parliamentary Secretary at Finance, where he has
overseen talks between the US and Malta on a bilateral Double
Taxation Agreement (DTA). The US Department of Treasury
recently announced it had entered into formal negotiations
with Malta on a DTA, which will commence on March 24. With
the same team in place representing Malta, it is likely that
the US will be able to initial an agreement following the
upcoming negotiations. As head of the newly consolidated
Ministry of Finance, Economy and Investment, Fenech has
greatly broadened responsibilities. The new Ministry will
manage the budget office, treasury, Inland Revenue, customs,
financial regulations, investment promotion and Malta
Enterprise.

8. (U) As Parliamentary Secretary for Finance, Fenech is
credited with the success of bringing Malta in line with the
economic and fiscal criteria to adopt the euro as its
currency, and ensuring that a smooth transition to the euro.
Fenech also ensured that Malta received 855 million euros
from the EU for a variety of infrastructure and road projects
from 2007-2013.

9. (SBU) With such visible successes, Fenech is seen as a
rising star in the Nationalist Party, perhaps even a future
Prime Minister. Fenech is an accountant by profession and
former mayor of Birkirkara, Malta’s largest municipality.
Fenech entered Parliament in 2003, and is an extremely
popular politician who was elected in two districts. The
Embassy has cultivated a strong working relationship with
Fenech, who went on an IVP focused on immigration policy and
environmental and alternative energy initiatives.
MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: CARMELO MIFSUD BONNICI

10. (C) The new Minister for Justice and Home Affairs (MJHA)
Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici is more of an unknown. Since 2003,
Mifsud Bonnici has served as the Parliamentary Secretary at
MJHA. He was first elected to Parliament in 1998. Prior to
his term at MJHA, Mifsud Bonnici was a practicing lawyer, who
handled criminal, civil and commercial cases. The embassy’s
infrequent contacts with him at MJHA 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.

ROUNDING OUT THE CABINET

11. (SBU) Austin Gatt, previously the Minister for
Investment, Industry and Information Technology (MIIIT), will
lead the new Ministry for Communications and Projects. This
is a consolidation of the Ministry of Competitiveness and
Communications and MIIIT. Gatt will retain responsibility
for the large state owned utilities Enemalta Corporation, and
the Water Services Corporation, as well as the Malta Maritime
Authority, Malta Freeport Corporation and Malta Shipyards.
During his tenure at MIIIT, Gatt closed a deal with Dubai
Holdings to develop SmartCity Malta, based on the model of
Dubai’s Internet and Media City; the project is expected to
generate over 5,600 jobs in the ICT sector and represents the
largest real estate development on the island at about USD
300 million. 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.)

12. (U) George Pullicino as the new Minister for Resources
and Rural Affairs, will manage a portfolio similar to that
which he presided over from 2003-2007 as Minister for Rural
Affairs and the Environment. Dolores Cristina, a popular
politician elected from two districts and formerly Minister
for the Family and Social Solidarity, will become Minister of
Education and Culture. John Dalli, a former Foreign Minister
who resigned from Parliament in 2004, was appointed the
Minister for Social Policy. Finally, as noted above, Giovanna
Debono retains her position as Minister for Gozo, the second
largest island in the Maltese archipelago with around 30,000
inhabitants.

13. (U) The new government and cabinet officials were sworn
in March 12, but most have yet to assume their posts, with
some ministries undergoing extensive reorganization.
Ministers are expected to fully assume their duties after the
Easter holidays, i.e. around March 24. MFA is the exception
to the rule, with new FM Tonio Borg accompanying PM Gonzi to
Brussels for an EU summit yesterday.

14. (C) Comment: In a conversation with the Ambassador prior
to the election, PM Gonzi lamented quite bluntly to the
Ambassador that the elected Nationalist Party MPs offered a
limited talent pool from which to select ministers that are
matched well with their competencies and are able to form an
efficient working government. (The PM wished it was possible
to draw ministers from business or academia, something that
is not possible in Malta.) While the PM’s point is well
taken, the appointments of Borg and Fenech, in particular,
are excellent news. End comment.

BORDONARO