Mr Jo-Etienne Abela’s wheel of fortune

Abstract

Let us face it. In the past few weeks, the new Minister for Health has inherited a cornucopia of challenges. Challenges which many of us know and some of us know even better. But let me go one step back and analyse the decision to appoint Dr Jo-Etienne Abela to the post of Minister for Health. You may loathe politics and strongly dissent from the current political administration, but I believe that the majority of people hailing from both sides of the political spectrum will agree that the decision by the Prime Minister to appoint Dr Abela as Minister for Health was a chess master’s move. Let me explain better. Everyone in the field knows that Dr Abela is an excellent surgeon with a distinguished career trajectory. Tick. However, in politics that does not suffice. You also need a likeable, well-meaning, and charismatic leader. Tick. Someone who can build bridges and not burn them. Tick. A person who calls a spade a spade and then, takes the bull by the horns to address any shortcomings. Tick. A visionary. Tick. Add to that the fact that he is Gozitan, and you have the ideal person. Historically, Dr Abela is the first Gozitan to occupy the post of Minister for Health (as well as Active Ageing). [excerpt]