People • 09 FEBRUARY 2003

Sporting politics for the future

Sports, the referendum, politics and ambitions. Parliamentary Secretary Jesmond Mugliett tells Kurt Sansone all about it

He is young, ambitious and down to earth. Jesmond Mugliett was first elected to Parliament in 1996. After the 1998 change of fortune for the Nationalist Party, Mugliett was appointed parliamentary secretary in the ministry of education.

In such a short time span Mugliett’s political career took off. Today he has four regional sport complexes to bolster his name and a string of donations to various sport associations.

I meet Jesmond Mugliett at his office in Floriana. He has just returned from a press conference at the Cottonera Sports Complex. I kick-start the interview by asking him whether four regional sports complexes are too much for such a tiny island.

"When I took office various sport sectors needed a push. I do not think we are seeing too big, on the contrary we do not have enough facilities. The complexes, which are multi-functional are a worthwhile investment and they will enable us to increase the space available for different sporting associations. Over the last four years we have handed out 12 offices to minor sports associations."

The country hardly has any sporting achievements to its credit and the money pumped into sports does not match the investment made by other countries. Mugliett is not fazed by the argument. He acknowledges that investment in sport is not as hefty as that in other countries but insists that TV money, which is a prime revenue generator for sports, is limited in Malta. "Our size militates against us because we do not benefit from economies of scale. One way out of this straightjacket is to encourage sport tourism. Different associations can benefit from the organisation of international sporting events, which generate spin-off effects on other areas of the economy."

With the talk of the town being the European Union, I ask Mr Mugliett whether we have had an overkill of Europe.

He reflects on the question. "One year ago in the run up to the local elections, during home visits I realised that people wanted government to talk about other issues unrelated to the European Union. But today the feeling I get from home visits is that people are realising that the decision to be taken on 8 March is a historic one. EU membership has generated interest and preoccupation as well."

I ask him about the fear of change and whether the electorate is too wary of such a radical shift.

"Any decision we take means change," he answers after a long pause.

"If the country rejects membership and opts for the partnership option it does not mean that things will remain the same. The geo-political environment around us will change because after 1 May 2004 the EU would have grown by another nine states. This will definitely have an impact on us and that means that we still have to change.

"The electorate has the advantage with EU membership of evaluating the track record of the current member states. On the other hand, there is no country to compare with under the Labour Party’s alternative. The MLP option has too many unknown factors. I believe that people know much more about the EU and how it will affect Malta."

With all sides of the EU debate in full campaign mode it is very difficult to have a meaningful debate. The ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps have drawn trenches and anybody who attempts to venture out with a balanced argument is shot down. Mr Mugliett agrees with this line of thought.

"We are in a pre-electoral campaign and I firmly believe that people will be analysing the behaviour of politicians from now till the referendum to judge whether they are then suited to govern the country. What the political parties do now will certainly reflect on them in the general election.

"Sometimes I think it would have been a good idea to hold the referendum soon after the Copenhagen summit. But the Prime Minister showed that he respected democracy. The prolonged time gave the chance for information to be disseminated, the Labour Party was not forced to take a boycott decision and the parliamentary institution was respected in the sense that it was given the chance to debate the issue."

Pausing for a moment he adds: "It would have been better had the referendum not come too close to the general election."

I ask Mr Mugliett whether he has any personal ambitions. The answer is immediate and to the point. "I wish to participate in a government that will be taking Malta into the EU. These are exciting times and the whole process is beneficial to the country."

But will this remain a divided country once the foreign policy direction is settled?

"I believe when the decision is taken the Maltese will do all they can to benefit from the opportunity. We have already seen this in the pre-accession phase. It is not only Nationalist leaning individuals, who have benefited from the EU’s educational programmes. We had local councils with a Labour majority and the General Workers’ Union itself benefiting from the educational programmes. I am certain that if Malta joins the EU everybody will endeavour to benefit from the opportunities that will be made available."

Politics aside I shift the debate to football. The dismal international results do not reflect the amount of investment made in the sport.

"I believe the main problem is the quality of coaching at nursery level. It is improving but we still have a long way to go. If coaches are not trained properly talent cannot be developed. The attitude has to change. Investment should be made where it can translate into results. We are not investing correctly." Mr Mugliett does not mince his words on the financial situation of most football clubs. "The spending is being done by a select number of presidents and when presidents fall out with their respective clubs they claim the money was lent to the clubs and not donated. The presidents go to court to get their money back and a garnishee order is issued against the club. This leaves the clubs in disarray.

"This situation merits a thorough overhaul. We cannot accept to have people go on an ego trip on the club’s ticket and then leave the club to flounder. However, these problems are not only football related."

It is often stated that the lack of a sports college to groom budding talent is at the heart of the problem. Sportspersons go to great lengths to try and keep up with their studies while training.

Mr Mugliett says he had researched the idea thoroughly and had also proposed a project for the creation of a college of sport. "The plans were advanced, but it did not materialise because the major preoccupation expressed in Cabinet was the talent identification system by which budding sportspersons would be chosen to be part of the college.

"We could use physical education teachers in schools and qualified coaches in nurseries to help us identify talent. The main preoccupation was that such a system should not be left solely to the individual associations and clubs."

An architect by profession, Mr Mugliett admits to having lost the edge in his profession. "Politics de-skills you. As an architect I have not designed a project for almost four years. Not that I forgot what the job entails but you do get rusty. I consider studying to be an investment in oneself and one of my ambitions is to take up a course in economics and strategic planning to broaden my knowledge."

Does he aspire to becoming a minister?

"It is every MPs aspiration to become a minister. However, I find that most of the time it is the people around you that transfer their expectations on to you. There is a lot to learn before assuming a ministerial post and I feel my years as a parliamentary secretary served as a good running-in experience."

With the political barometer hitting top gear for the next few months the likeliness is that a radical shift away from conventional politics will be experienced after all is done and said.

Mr Mugliett ponders the future. "The country needs to grow. I believe that in the next five years the country will open up more in its outlook and other sensitive issues such as pollution would become mainstream issues.

"I do not believe that tomorrow’s Maltese will remain Maltese as we know them today. We are changing as we have always done and gradually public opinion is leaving its mark on the political and social make-up of the country."