Robert Abela Needs To Understand The World Better, Former Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo Says
Prime Minister Robert Abela needs to improve his understanding on how the world works, former Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo said.
Interviewed on Xtra last night, Bartolo – who was Foreign Minister between January 2020 and March 2022 – gave a lukewarm assessment of Abela, stating that his opinions on foreign policy annoyed the government but without expanding further.
“I did what I thought was in the national interest and I’d do it again,” Bartolo said.
Asked for his opinion on Abela, Bartolo said the Prime Minister should take more of an effort in understanding the way the world, Europe and the Mediterranean work and how global politics impact Malta.
“They used to say that politics is completely local but nowadays it’s become ‘glocal’ – both global and local,” he said.
Bartolo also warned that Malta finds itself at a crossroads and that it must change its economic model in light of new global regulations on taxation, the environment, aviation and others.
“We couldn’t even keep doing what we had been doing before if we wanted to but we must reinvent ourselves,” he said.
During his tenure as Foreign Minister, Bartolo condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Ukraine invasion but warned against efforts by the West to turn Russia into a pariah state.
“We must be very careful. The Russians aren’t Putin and demonising the whole of Russia and including all Russians in the category as though they are in Putin’s circle and responsible for what is going on would not only be a political mistake but a factual error too,” he said in an interview with Lovin Malta last March.
Bartolo also came out against calls to suspend Malta’s passport scheme for Russian nationals, arguing that some Russians apply for Maltese citizenship to escape the Kremlin. However, the Maltese government ended up suspending the scheme a mere few hours after he passed these comments.
Stressing on the importance of global peace, Bartolo said China has a crucial role to play in helping mediate an end to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, stating that the nation has always upheld the principles of sovereignty and independence.
Although he didn’t get re-elected to Parliament at the 2022 election, he has remained an active commentator on foreign affairs.
After Turkey brokered a deal between Ukraine and Russia for the resumption of grain exports through the Black Sea, Bartolo said he had long been urging the EU to cooperate more with Turkey, as well as Gulf, Mediterranean and African nations.
“Some people in Malta and Brussels weren’t pleased and told me I was playing with fire, while others nicknamed me ‘Mr Mediterranean’,” he said.
“European ministers had asked me to help them improve their contact with Turkey, Qatar, Libya and Algeria and I would do so gladly while maintaining friendly relations with countries who aren’t allied to these nations.”
“I hope the EU seeks to strengthen its relations with these countries beyond seeing them as a source of energy.”
“Europe’s destiny is intrinsically tied to the destiny of the Mediterranean and Africa, something [former Maltese Prime Minister] Dom Mintoff used to say. Little Malta can do a lot of good if it plays its humble part for peace and security whenever possible.”
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