A confident performance

Glenn Micallef’s grilling at the hands of MEPs went well. He calmly showed that he understood the brief handed to him by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and displayed sensitivity to the “diverse cultural tapestry” that makes up the EU.

His young age – at 35, he is the youngest member of Von der Leyen’s team – was not considered a stumbling block by MEPs and his lack of executive experience was not mentioned once as he navigated relatively calm waters.

Micallef appeared well-briefed and knowledgeable on the various cultural, educational and youth-oriented programmes and initiatives at EU level. He made a strong case for addressing youth disengagement from politics by “giving them a seat at the table”.

Without being antagonistic, he skilfully reaffirmed the EU’s values of tolerance, diversity, equality and the rule of law when far-right MEPs tried to trip him up with questions on trans female athletes participating in female sports and Erasmus+ funding cuts for Hungarian universities.

But he also acknowledged the inevitable; much of his portfolio concerns areas that are of national competence and any action required of him will grossly depend on the delivery by other commissioners. Micallef is tasked to coordinate the youth dialogues involving other commissioners. He is also tasked to push through a plan to combat cyber bullying and reduce harmful screen time of children and young people but even these areas require action from other commissioners.

In many other aspects, Micallef’s role within the commission will pretty much be one of coordination and encouraging member states to adopt plans, guidelines and safeguards in their national actions. In sports, he will serve as the EU’s ambassador at large.

Nonetheless, Micallef rose to the occasion and promised constant engagement with parliament, fellow commissioners and member states if approved. He delivered an honest appraisal of his portfolio, its opportunities and limitations, and promised to address the challenges with enthusiasm and energy. In his calmness he projected confidence.

There was nothing in Micallef’s performance that should serve as a stumbling block for his eventual appointment as European Commissioner. And there is nothing to suggest that he will not be able to grow into the ‘big shoes’ of European governance.

However, no matter how good Micallef’s performance was and how well he will do in the next five years, the fact remains that Malta ended up with an ineffectual portfolio – it does not even include education, media and R&D; areas that previously formed part of the culture and sports portfolio.

There is no doubt that Micallef’s lack of executive experience played heavily into Von der Leyen’s decision to hand him a portfolio where EU competencies are limited. It is indeed, the weakest portfolio Malta has ever bagged since joining the EU in 2004.

Malta had been gunning for the new Mediterranean and southern neighbourhood portfolio after having promoted the idea. It would have been an interesting challenge to craft something meaningful from such a portfolio, especially after Malta’s successful membership of the UN Security Council and headship of the OSCE. Instead, the Mediterranean portfolio went to Croatia in what was a clear snub by Von der Leyen.

But every dark cloud has a silver lining. Micallef’s nomination enabled the Nationalist Party to play ball. It was positive that the PN supported Micallef’s nomination albeit expressing misgivings about the lack of an influential portfolio.

Indeed, it would have been puerile and politically suicidal for the PN to try and scupper Micallef’s chances, especially since he has no skeletons in his cupboard. Seeing David Casa applaud Micallef at the start and end of his performance in front of MEPs was a welcome show of maturity and national unity when it mattered.

This leader wishes Micallef every success in his new role and we can only hope that he exits the next five years having been a thorn in the side of fellow commissioners to deliver on policies and pledges he is tasked to coordinate.