Opposition seeks remedy for 'propagandistic' New Year message

The Opposition has filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Authority over the Prime Minister’s New Year message, arguing that its “propagandistic” content required a reply by the PN leader.

In what she called her “baptism of fire”, recently-appointed chair Tanya Borg Cardona and the Broadcasting Authority board heard PN MP and lawyer Francis Zammit Dimech lay out his arguments as to why the Nationalist Party was seeking recourse.

“The video was riddled with partisan discourse that require an equal intervention by the opposition leader,” Zammit Dimech insisted.

He argued, that the message had taken on the format of an advert, following a scripted discussion and the “acting of the couple” worsened the broadcast.

References to the economy, the Delimara power station, the Gozo hospital, the American University of Malta, MEPA demerger and corruption were among the topics featured in the Prime Minister’s message that made the broadcast “controversial and partisan”.

The PN also took issue with Muscat’s reference to the Valletta Summit has having placed Malta back “on the international map”.

Zammit Dimech said that, according to law, impartiality must be respected on controversial matters. He also argued that messages delivered by previous prime ministers “were less controversial”.

“I am not asking the BA to determine whether the Prime Minister’s message was wrong or not. All I’m asking is for the Broadcasting Authority to determine whether there is more than one position on what the Prime Minister said and, as a result, provide remedy for such propaganda,” Zammit Dimech said.

The PN wants equal airtime to rebut Muscat’s message.

Appearing for the Public Broadcasting Services, lawyer Mark Vassallo argued that Muscat’s message was “no different” to other messages delivered by former prime ministers.

“The format may be different but, when you remove the fanfare, all is left is a message almost identical to the previous ones. Without any guidelines on how the message should be delivered, the PBS’s role is to see the message before it is broadcast and ensure there is nothing illegal or libelous,” Vassallo said.

He went on to add that previous prime ministers’ messages lasted for 20 minutes as they followed a script.

“Comparisons are odious … but if we want to compare the previous prime minister had spoken of the Five plus Five summit, employment and the economy. The message remains the same … but this time there was a more refined production.”

Vassallo also disagreed with Zammit Dimech’s argument that, because different opinions existed on the topics discussed, the opposition should be allowed airtime.

“More than one opinion exists on any subject and due impartiality is not restricted just to political issues. So what? If we give the leader of the opposition airtime for a New Year Message, why stop the leader of Alternattiva Demokratika, the leader of Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin and any other leaders from doing the same?”

Vassallo urged the Broadcasting Authority to establish a set of guidelines “so that everyone knows what the rule of the game is”.

The New Year’s address by the Prime Minister, which according the newspaper reports cost €8,400 to produce, was produced by the Office of the Prime Minister.