PBS chief executive was go-between for Gonzi and Debono, MP claims

Nationalist MP Franco Debono has named Public Broadcasting Services chief executive officer Anton Attard as having been the go-between for the prime minister at the height of tensions with the MP back in May 2012.

Debono wrote on his blog on Monday that Attard was "chief mediator between me and PN, doing his utmost to solve PN problems" when the government was facing a no-confidence motion against then home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici and Richard Cachia Caruana, the former ambassador to the EU.

Debono would later vote in favour of the Opposition motion that brought about the resignation of Mifsud Bonnici.

Attard has failed to reply to questions sent via email by MaltaToday on whether he really was the go-between for Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Debono.

On his part, when asked to expand on his claim, Debono said: "In another country this would be outrageous," but declined to comment on the extent of Attard's mediating role.

It was clear that Debono's statement was sparked by a quip delivered by tenor Joseph Calleja at his conferment of an honoris causa at the University of Malta, about Debono's infamous Form II report card which the MP brandished to a PBS crew that visited him at his house at the height of the MP's rebellion back in January 2012.

Anton Attard happens to be the manager of tenor Calleja. "[Calleja] must apologise. If not to me, to the University for Malta and the people present for the conferment ceremony for his inappropriate comments during such a solemn ceremony," Debono said.

Debono further added that persons occupying sensitive posts such as Attard's should not get involved in politics.

Attard formerly headed the Nationalist Party's television station Net and in 2008, he ran Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi's media campaign, taking care of every aspect of the PN leader's electoral campaign. He was then appointed as CEO at the national broadcaster in 2010.

Since taking over at PBS, the former PN television station manager has come under harsh criticism by Labour MPs over the PBS news agenda, despite an ambitious programme schedule for a new TVM2 channel and a forthcoming HD station.