Comment of the day
Posted by former Maltese ambassador (he was a career diplomat, not a political appointee) Evarist Saliba:
This reminds me of the occasion when I had to chair an investment seminar in Zurich, organised by UNIDO, the Swiss Office for Development and Trade, the Malta Development Corporation, the Bank of Valletta and the Embassy of Malta in Geneva, which I headed, on 17 October 1979.
The international press on that day was prominently reporting the burning of the Times of Malta and the attack on the family and residence of the Leader of the Opposition, Eddie Fenech Adami, by Mintoff’s supporters two days earlier.
It took all my diplomatic experience and the cooperation of one guest to elicit some reaction from the audience.
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Mr Saliba should be careful. He might be accused of being negative.
That reminds me, now that Mrs Joseph Muscat has held a fashionable soiree for the high society at Girgenti Palace, and a fashion show and high tea at Auberge de Castille, she must have amazing plans for what to do at Villa Francia.
Maybe she’s planning to stage a reenactment of the sacking of Valletta, which Labour has transmogrified into a celebration of working class heroism?
Be care full Mr Saliba as they might tell you “qieghed ixxewwex”
I can just imagine Ray Azzopardi handling a situation in similar circumstances as head of mission in Brussels.
I wonder how the Times of Malta believes that it is escaping scrutiny by Foreign representatives to Malta?
I wonder what level of realisation remains of the thorough briefings proper diplomats are trained to carry out and expected to report in, and of the way much of the impact of this information gets translated into imperceptible actions.