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Karl Schembri
The prime minister’s communications coordinator, Alan Camilleri, is expected to resign in the coming days, MaltaToday has learned.
Sources at Castille confirmed that Camilleri, who has been Lawrence Gonzi’s man in charge of media relations since he was social policy minister, will be tendering his resignation soon to be able to work on family business.
He has just completed successfully the coordination of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting, where as logistics director of the task force set up by Gonzi he had to plan the event down to the minutest details amid security concerns and logistical headaches. On Friday Camilleri was lauded during Xarabank’s edition on CHOGM week, where Camilleri’s prowess at organising the year’s greatest event received much praise.
Just a year ago, Camilleri earned a condemnation from the Institute of Journalists after MaltaToday revealed an e-mail he had sent to the editor of The Malta Independent on Sunday deriding a journalist for asking questions about government’s financial advisors.
“Mr Camilleri’s attitude in the journalist’s regard when he was exercising his right and duty to ask questions of public interest that related to a matter of current controversy is not justified, and does not help journalists in their work,” the institute had noted. Gonzi had defended Camilleri and complained to the institute that party journalists were “not doing their job well”, although no party journalists were involved in the controversy with his public relations man.
Even the Chairperson of the Housing Authority, Marisa Micallef, had complained about Camilleri’s heavy-handed approach back then.
“While it is true that the media in general does not seem to like the government right now, it is very important that those who represent government, particularly high up at Castille, do not let this spill out into bad tempered arrogance,” Micallef wrote in her opinion column. “When they treat others rudely, they are after all only damaging the PM, a man who does not deserve this. … When the PM of a country is far, far more polite and less arrogant to anyone and everyone than his PRO, you know something is wrong.”
Camilleri and the Independent journalist have since been reconciled.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
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