55 organisations and 3,327 creative professionals formally call on the Prime Minister to act following an unprecedented loss of confidence in Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea
The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) has today formally submitted to Prime Minister Robert Abela an open letter calling for the resignation or reassignment of Hon. Dr Malcolm Paul Agius Galea, Minister for Arts, Culture and National Heritage,and for the culture portfolio to be reassigned.
The letter is supported by 55 organisations and 3,327 individuals from across Malta’s cultural and creative sector.
The unprecedented response received within such a short period reflects the depth of hurt, frustration and, most importantly, the loss of confidence in the Minister among the community he has been entrusted to represent.
MEIA stresses that this is not a position the Association has reached lightly. As a representative body, however, it has a responsibility to communicate the position of the sector, even when that message is difficult.
The scale of the response means this can no longer be dismissed as an isolated disagreement between the Minister and individual members of the cultural community.
MEIA has consistently sought constructive dialogue and recognises the substantial progress achieved for Malta’s cultural and creative sector over recent years through sustained advocacy, Government action and cooperation.
It is precisely because that progress must be protected that the Association believes this situation now requires action.
Minister’s response does not address the loss of trust
MEIA has also taken note of Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea’s response to the controversy.
While the Minister acknowledged that his remarks may have sounded insensitive, that people were hurt and that he could have expressed himself differently, his response stopped short of an unequivocal apology for the substance of the remarks and instead sought to contextualise them as an attempt to challenge and provoke discussion.
For MEIA, the issue is not simply whether the remarks could have been phrased differently.
The concern is what those remarks revealed about the Minister’s understanding and perception of the sector he has been appointed to lead.
Suggesting that the problem was principally one of delivery does not adequately address the very serious concerns raised by statements questioning public investment in culture, characterising creativity as potentially presumptuous or dangerous, referring to artists as considering themselves “God’s gift to the world”, and suggesting that creative expression should remain within particular norms.
The sector has responded because it believes these positions are fundamentally incompatible with the leadership, and understanding expected from the Minister entrusted with Malta’s cultural portfolio.
The responsibility now rests with the Prime Minister
The open letter has now been formally placed before Prime Minister Robert Abela.
MEIA believes that the responsibility to address the situation therefore rests with the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister has himself publicly recognised that the Minister’s remarks were insensitive and that members of the cultural and creative sector were rightfully disappointed.
With 55 organisations and 3,327 individuals now formally expressing their position, MEIA believes that Government cannot simply acknowledge the hurt caused and expect the matter to end there.
Public office carries responsibility and accountability. When such a significant section of the community represented by a Minister states that it has lost confidence in his ability to represent it, that message deserves a meaningful response from the Head of Government.
The decision before the Prime Minister is therefore not about whether one agrees with every criticism directed at the Minister. It is about whether Malcolm Paul Agius Galea can continue to effectively serve as Minister for Arts, Culture and National Heritage when the relationship of trust with a substantial part of the sector he represents has been so seriously compromised.
MEIA’s formal letter makes clear that the Association no longer believes that the confidence necessary for that relationship can credibly be restored under the Minister’s continued leadership.
MEIA therefore reiterates its formal request for the resignation or reassignment of Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea away from responsibility for Arts, Culture and National Heritage.
This is not a call made against Government, nor does it disregard the considerable work and progress achieved for the cultural sector over recent years.
It is a call for that progress to be protected.
MEIA remains ready to work constructively with Government and to continue advancing the reforms, investment and structures the sector urgently needs. However, meaningful collaboration requires mutual respect, open dialogue and leadership in which the community can have confidence.
The Association now respectfully calls on the Prime Minister to listen to the collective voice expressed through this unprecedented response and take the action necessary to restore confidence in the political representation of Malta’s cultural and creative sector.