2006: a year in review
The year 2006, Malta’s third year as member of the European Union, will be mostly remember for so-called ‘off-diary’ events, i.e. events that could not be predicted or expected.
With no major political events, our attention turned to more social and economy-related news: more illegal immigrants, a new ‘low-cost airline’ craze when the local tourism industry was in the doldrums, and the announcement of a new archbishop for Malta were among the highlights for 2006. You can read more on the 2006 Top Stories page in this feature.
The year 2006, Malta’s third year as member of the European Union, will be mostly remember for so-called ‘off-diary’ events, i.e. events that could not be predicted or expected.
With no major political events, our attention turned to more social and economy-related news: more illegal immigrants, a new ‘low-cost airline’ craze when the local tourism industry was in the doldrums, and the announcement of a new archbishop for Malta were among the highlights for 2006. You can read more on the 2006 Top Stories page in this feature.
A scandal of international proportions hit Malta’s sister island, Gozo, when former U.S. congressman Mark Foley revealed that he had a sexual relationship with Gozitan Priest Anthony Mercieca when the congressman was a teenager in Florida in the 1960s. Another event that made international headlines was the death of Swedish Aero GP ace pilot Gabor Varga while racing in Malta in September. As expected, Malta’s march towards the adoption of the Euro stepped into higher gear, although the 1 January 2008 date is yet to be confirmed by Brussels. The local elections in March confirmed yet again the gains of the Labour opposition, amid the first talk and rumours of possible ‘early’ general elections sometime in 2007. In the meantime the Government presented its 2007 Budget with tax reductions. The annual appointment with the Eurovision Song Contest in May reserved yet another, maybe not totally unexpected, bitter result for Malta. This was in stark contrast with the abundant activities in the alternative music scene, which ranged from concerts by Sting and Roger Waters to the release of several CDs by new and established recording artists. More about all that in Toni Sant's review of Maltese music in 2006. In celebrating the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Malta was turned into a 'little Italy' when thousands of Maltese celebrated Italy's win in the football championship held in Germany in July. More about that and all the salient moments from the 2006 sports scene in Malta by Antoine Busuttil. Charles Arrigo, Lewis Portelli and Frans Baldacchino il-Budaj were among the personalities who passed away during 2006, which will also be remembered as the year when three former speakers of the Maltese Parliament, Kalcidon Agius, Joseph Baldacchino and Jimmy Farrugia died. As for the MaltaMedia Online Network, 2006 saw the launch of ImagineGozo.com, while Robert Micallef brought us the third win in the e-journalism category of the Annual Malta Journalism Awards with Wired Temples, his blog about Malta on the web. This was a historical moment because it was the first time that a blog received officially recognition in the Maltese media scene. Photo captions (top to bottom): Mons Pawl Cremona was named the new Archbishop for Malta; Swedish Aero GP ace pilot Gabor Varga while racing in Malta; Fabrizio Faniello won the Malta Song for Europe and represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest; Broadcaster Charles Arrigo and folk singer Frans Baldacchino il-Budaj are remembered fondly by lovers of Maltese culture, they both died in 2006. |  |
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