Konrad Mizzi is a well-renowned man in Maltese politics. He currently serves as a Member of Parliament and Minister for Tourism. His political experience includes being a Minister for Energy and Conservation of Water and also Minister for Energy and Health. His time during this and the previous legislature was nothing short of controversial, as he fell under the spotlight in the Panama Papers scandal which still plagues him till this very day. He came under heavy fire due to his secret account with severe allegations of corruption, tax evasion and money laundering.
Konrad Mizzi paid dearly for this as he also had to renounce his Deputy Prime Minister ambitions. With that said, Konrad Mizzi’s track record is not just marred in controversy as he has still achieved a lot when compared to other Ministers. He came into the fold just before the 2013 election as part of the new face Labour party with a strong promise of reducing water and electricity tariffs by up to 25%. Delivering on his promise, Konrad Mizzi was indeed behind the successful implementation, which led to many sympathisers, as he positively impacted their lives with such tariff reductions. What was considered to be amongst the highest of utility tariffs in the European Union, became the fourth cheapest. This time period was also marred by controversy however, as it was revealed that his wife earned a contract worth thirteen thousand Euro per month.
Konrad Mizzi was also heavily involved in the health sector. One of the popular initiatives he worked on included out of stock medicines which was a major problem under the previous government. In 2015, there were no out of stock medicines registered in Malta under the Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme.
In 2017, Konrad Mizzi was appointed as Minister for Tourism. Immediately following his appointment, one of his main priorities was to turn around the situation at Air Malta. This included a plan to make the company financially viable. Ever since being made in charge, Air Malta re-opened routes to Tunis and Frankfurt. This was followed by the announcement of new routes including Manchester, Casablanca, Lisbon, St Petersburg, Kiev and Venice. The results which followed were extremely encouraging as Air Malta now finds itself on the route of financial sustainability.
The recent project undertaken by Mizzi in the airline industry is that of Malta Air, following a collaboration with Ryanair. In Mizzi’s point of view, Ryanair have now set up in Malta on a more permanent basis. What will this mean for Air Malta?
His success on an individual basis before entering politics was also quite evident, having led major projects and initiatives across different sectors, including public, infrastructure, telecommunications and enterprise promotion.
What is your view on Minister Konrad Mizzi?
