Oh and by the way, remember the public

Published: April 10, 2013 at 9:23pm

The Times reports Civil Service Head (former GWU man) Mario Cutajar’s words to the new permanent secretaries on their official appointment:

The Principal Permanent Secretary, Mario Cutajar, said the new secretaries should be loyal not only to the government and the prime minister, but also the people.

That is just so typical of somebody with Mario Cutajar’s Old Labour/GWU mindset: loyalty to the government and the prime minister…oh and incidentally, loyalty to ‘the people’ as well.

Actually, Mr Cutajar, the first loyalty of permanent secretaries is to the public. That’s why they’re called public servants. When loyalty to the government/prime minister comes into conflict with loyalty to the public, the latter should take precedence.

That’s why so many senior public servants resigned in Mintoff’s day.




7 Comments Comment

  1. Joseph Vassallo- Agius says:

    Why are you surprised? They have absolutely no idea!

  2. Dorothy says:

    “The Principal Permanent Secretary, Mario Cutajar, said the new secretaries should be loyal not only to the government and the prime minister, but also the people.”

    His manner of thought is so North Korean.

  3. Harry Purdie says:

    In biology class at university, I was taught that snakes lie in the weeds, awaiting the opportunity to strike. Here we go.

  4. Tabatha White says:

    And of the public servants who didn’t resign, many were those voices that came forward, later, with a direct personal apology and expression of regret against those targeted.

    What’s done is done. There is always a choice: to comply or not to comply.

  5. Gordon says:

    Maybe Baxxter can look at the list of perm secs and realize that apart from Marlene – eu perm rep – there are no other females…so much for his nepotism (literally) comments.

    • bookworm says:

      Maybe the other Marlene (Mizzi) will be offered a post, who knows where, maybe at the former Austin Gatt’s Ministry at Merchants Street. I saw her going into the building last week.

  6. P Shaw says:

    Why do Muscat and OPM keep hampering on the issue of loyalty to him – is he implying total suubmissiveness by any chance?- they repeated the same mesage over and over again in Malta and Brussels It sounds like a threat to me.

    With this imposition of total loyalty to the megalomaniac, one wonders what civil servants should do when forced to choose between their career / duty and an unethical action imposed on them.

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