Oh dear.

I have achieved media prominence of a sort in Malta today, becoming a leading story in the Malta Star.

This publication does not like the current Malta government.

Its article boldly asserts that I am the Maltese Prime Minister’s new ‘Spin Doctor’, brought in to help the PM ‘deal with the problems within the nationalist party parliamentary group’.

More: Crawford was the person who recommended to Dr Gonzi to give his disgruntled backbenchers an apprenticeship with various Government Ministries, and pay them from public funds…

He also states repeatedly on his blog https://www.charlescrawford.biz that he is a euro-sceptic. This means that the Leader of the Nationalist Party is now taking advice from a prominent euro-sceptic after years leading his party’s electoral campaigns with a stance of of anti-euro-scepticism…

Charles Crawford has in fact become so involved in the Nationalist Party’s internal organisation that he has, on various occasions, quoted blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia in his own blog.

Another article (seemingly referring to this first one) says that some officials within the Nationalist Party are shocked that an external spin doctor has been brought in to help the Prime Minister.

Malta! Here are the facts. NB No-one in Malta including the Malta Star has been in touch with me to ask about them.

  • I left the FCO in late 2007 to start a new career, part of which has turned out to be senior training of different sorts
  • Last year I was asked by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official in Malta to give some officials diplomatic communications training
  • Which I duly did, drawing on training work I have previously done for the FCO in London as well as for one other EU member state and for the European Commission in Brussels
  • The training in Malta as elsewhere focused on writing and presenting good English for different official purposes
  • My visit had nothing whatsoever to do with the Nationalist Party’s internal affairs
  • I will be pleased to come back to Malta to advise any party or organisation who wishes to pay for this training, including the Malta Star. Book early to avoid disappointment
  • The article in the Malta Star seems to insinuate that I have been drawing on my mediation skills during the recent training in Valletta, to help one particular political party. Alas not – that is a separate course, which so far I have given only to EU officials in Brussels
  • In short, I have made no recommendations to anyone in Malta other than to show some officials how to write and present brisk official English
  • In particular I of course have NOT said or recommended anything to anyone about giving Parliamentarians paid roles in Government Ministries
  • I am not a Spin Doctor. But if someone in Malta or anywhere else wants to pay me generously to be one, I’ll be happy to have a go.

Finally, I have linked to the site of Daphne Caruana Galizia for my small but select readership, as its popularity in Malta seems to be a striking example of the impact blogging can have in smaller countries.

Maybe I’m wrong on that. Likewise if other Malta bloggers with different views are having a similar impact, I’ll be delighted to link to them too. But I do not plan to let this blog be overwhelmed with things Maltese, gripping as they are.

Just to add that my first visit to beautiful Malta prompted me to write some general thoughts about democracy and participation for my own readers, who are unlikely to be familiar with the subject as it applies in Malta: here.

All clear now?

Sure?

Good. Thank you.