No ethics investigation needed on Imperium complaint over Facebook post

The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has thrown out a complaint by the far-right party Imperium Europa that took issue with comments made by the parliamentary secretary for equality, Rebecca Buttigieg.

The complaint concerned comments made by Buttigieg on a decision by the Broadcasting Authority to fine RTK radio for not hosting IE or its leader Norman Lowell during its political broadcasts in the run-up to the European elections of June 2022.

On 21 August 2024, the BA fined RTK €4,660 after broadcaster Andrew Azzopardi stated he categorically refused to host an IE candidate in his studio.

The Broadcasting Authority has also fined Church radio station RTK €1,750 after presenter Andrew Azzopardi described the far-rightist Norman Lowell as “xenophobic and racist” in a broadcast in October 2023.

In her comment on her Facebook profile, Buttigieg later expressed her personal opinion that the right to freedom of expression should not be used to undermine the fundamental rights of others or to spread hate. In her post, Buttigieg said that democracy should not be undermined “by giving space to those who act as populist hecklers, which apart from being dangerous are also lacking in basic facts.”

In her comments to the Standards Commissioner, Buttigieg said her personal comments on Facebook in no way violated the code of ethics of ministers or was in any way contrary to the collective responsibility as a member of the executive, as Lowell alleged in his complaint, without specifying how.

Nor did Buttigieg make any direct reference to Lowell or to Imperium Europa in her post, the junior minister said. “My view was expressed on my personal page and not in an official government statement issued by the Department of Information.”

“The Office has decided there are no grounds for further investigating this complaint,” Judge Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi said. “No further investigation will take place.”