Talking to KATE GONZI, I found out that the Prime minister’s wife might be modest about her own accomplishments, but is forthcoming on her husband’s government’s achievements
With such a long build up to the forthcoming elections, it must be exhausting for someone so involved in the campaign trail, yet Mrs Gonzi shows little sign of strain, but does she feel it?
“Despite having been involved in campaigning for elections since 1987, plus two referenda: one on whether to join the European Union and the other on divorce, it’s always hard. Our lifestyle, which is always hectic, is disrupted by attending countless activities; little time to catch up on sleep, plus you always gets some people who add to these pressures at election time. However, once a campaign starts I focus on the positives that the government has established and give it my all,” she tells me.
I didn’t know Kate Gonzi very well, but every time I have met her, over the years, she comes across as a gentle, kind and modest person. I wondered how she kept her cool and asked her whether she ever gets angry?
“It has been known”, she laughs, “especially when the children (David, Paul and Mikela – all now married and flown the nest) were growing up. It took me time to learn to keep cool; it was something I trained myself to do. Besides, time does mellow one and I have been influenced by Lawrence’s calm persona”, she tells me.
What about the challenges she has to face as a prime minister’s wife both in this crucial campaign and during the regular legislature?
“Balancing my home life, which now also includes four grandchildren, with my voluntary commitments plus being married to the prime minister, with all that entails, is the biggest challenge. Next, is motivating the many people who get in touch with me for assistance to recognise that they can also help themselves. Also, having to explain to others that, on certain topics, national interests have to take precedence over personal issues. Another challenge is to distinguish why people are affected by certain matters and to be sensitive to that.”
Mrs Gonzi is immersed in work that is admirable and inspiring. She is patron of the Malta Parkinson’s Disease Association, Honorary chairperson of the Malta Autism Parents Association and Honorary president of the Mental Health Association (the latter being one with a long association) among other good causes, yet as the PM’s wife she is also wrapped up in partisan politics, which can sometimes turn nasty. I wanted to know how she deals with rancorous back-biting.
“Being involved in politics, you have to be prepared for the sometimes unkind comments. But you have to accept that people have their own agendas. I disagree with mudslinging without proof, especially at election time, from whichever source. I usually leave it to our public relations people to deal with any response if necessary, I prefer to use my energy on positive things”, she said.
There has been a significant focus on increasing female employment rates by encouraging women, including those with small children, to seek employment, in this election campaign, and even before that, I wanted to know how she thinks that can be achieved?
“Changing attitudes, not so much for the younger generation but for women over 45, is the biggest hurdle,” she tells me and then expanded: “The Nationalist Party is proposing to issue vouchers for childcare, to enable women to choose where their children are looked after and persuade them back to work by not taxing women returnees for the first year of employment. Besides, ETC and MCAST both encourage and help women to retrain. Mothers, especially those with young children, need the reassurance that they will manage to balance family responsibilities with their work commitments. Flexible hours and tele-working should be available more widely, particularly beyond the public sector, to enable more mothers to strike that balance.
“Another step in the right direction is the commitment to allow working mothers to utilise their own sick-leave when their children are ill, meaning that they will still retain their vacation leave. In addition, about eight regional after-school clubs will also help women to move away from the part-time niche. Transport will also be provided from the children’s schools to the regional clubs,” she added.
Continuing in that vein, I asked her what issues women should be paying particular attention to in this election campaign.
“Health, education and work for both men and women; services for the elderly and a safe environment for children to play in”, she responded.
An EU report just released claimed that a quarter of children in Malta are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with those with a single parent with a low education level being most at risk. As she is the chairperson of the HSBC Foundation, which incorporates Care for Children under its umbrella, I asked Mrs Gonzi for her reaction to the report and what she thought should be done to help these children?
“One has to analyse what is causing this dire situation. We do have a problem with young women getting pregnant with no stable relationships, separated families and social problems like drug, alcohol and gambling addictions. There are support agencies like Appogg, but it is never enough. The new school curriculum that incorporates a holistic approach should give more personalised attention to such problems and hopefully overcome certain obstacles that prevent people from breaking away from poverty. However, we have to understand that as a society we are all responsible for social problems.”
The HSBC Foundation also incorporates Environment and Heritage, so Mrs Gonzi must really have her work cut out. I referred to the recent Din l-Art Helwa AGM at which its Executive President Simone Mizzi had this to say: “Valleys have been raped and continue to be” and “There is insufficient political will to bring an end to lawlessness and not enough courage to prevent commercial exploitation”. In addition, we have seen many articles in the press and pages on Facebook expressing concern over mature trees, so necessary for clean air and shade apart from enhancing the landscape, disappearing from our urban areas. I asked for her opinion on these issues?
“Mistakes have been made and we need more human resources to enforce the law. With regard to trees, there have been quite a few forestation projects. I love the environment, but there has to be a balance between the environment and development”, she said.
I remarked that, yes, we do also see stories in the press about tree planting. However, 100 year-old trees can never be replaced by saplings.
“Yes, that’s true, but the roots of some old trees are causing damage to our heritage, like at St John’s Cathedral, so sometimes it is a balance between the environment and heritage”, Mrs Gonzi responded.
Being married to a Prime Minister must make her privy to many things unknown to the general public, some of which give her pleasure and others grief, or just worry. How much weight does she think her husband gives to her concerns?
“He definitely listens and we have been married for a long time so he is very aware of concerns I may have”, she said.
Kate Gonzi’s counterpart in this election, Michelle Muscat, talks like a politician rather than the wife of one and was involved in setting up Labour Party policies. I wondered whether the PM’s wife would like to be seen as more active in the political machine and tried to find out whether, behind her meek persona, she challenges strongly what she thinks is going wrong.
“I have been involved in helping people and trying to right wrongs since my youth, which is active involvement in politics. However, being married to a politician, then Prime Minister, opened up that field from the parochial to a much wider level. I was very much part of the work leading to legislation on mental health reform, which extended treatment beyond the psychiatric unit within St Luke’s Hospital and Mount Carmel Hospital into the community. As changes started to be implemented, these were complimented with the setting up of the Richmond Foundation and the Mental Health Association, initially as self-help groups. These have since developed into a foundation that provides community mental health services and educational courses and an association with a focus on families,” she tells me.
Since Mrs Gonzi is coy about her accomplishments, her secretary filled me in with more detail. In 2009, she was appointed Patron of the World Health Organisation-European Commission Partnership Project on User Empowerment in Mental Health. In October 2010 she addressed a conference organised by the World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe) in collaboration with the European Commission in Leuven, Belgium and in November 2010, she chaired a session entitled: ‘Breaking the cycle of stigmatisation and discrimination due to mental health problems’ during a thematic conference organised by the European Commission and Ministry of Health in Portugal. She also supports the Puttinu Cares Foundation and their ongoing residential projects in the UK that accommodate Maltese patients receiving medical treatment.
This by no means covers all her endeavours. I now know her better and the impression I got of Kate Gonzi is that of a woman working alongside the PM rather than behind him.
Published in the Malta Independent on Sunday 03/03/2013
“Despite having been involved in campaigning for elections since 1987, plus two referenda: one on whether to join the European Union and the other on divorce, it’s always hard. Our lifestyle, which is always hectic, is disrupted by attending countless activities; little time to catch up on sleep, plus you always gets some people who add to these pressures at election time. However, once a campaign starts I focus on the positives that the government has established and give it my all,” she tells me.
I didn’t know Kate Gonzi very well, but every time I have met her, over the years, she comes across as a gentle, kind and modest person. I wondered how she kept her cool and asked her whether she ever gets angry?
“It has been known”, she laughs, “especially when the children (David, Paul and Mikela – all now married and flown the nest) were growing up. It took me time to learn to keep cool; it was something I trained myself to do. Besides, time does mellow one and I have been influenced by Lawrence’s calm persona”, she tells me.
What about the challenges she has to face as a prime minister’s wife both in this crucial campaign and during the regular legislature?
“Balancing my home life, which now also includes four grandchildren, with my voluntary commitments plus being married to the prime minister, with all that entails, is the biggest challenge. Next, is motivating the many people who get in touch with me for assistance to recognise that they can also help themselves. Also, having to explain to others that, on certain topics, national interests have to take precedence over personal issues. Another challenge is to distinguish why people are affected by certain matters and to be sensitive to that.”
Mrs Gonzi is immersed in work that is admirable and inspiring. She is patron of the Malta Parkinson’s Disease Association, Honorary chairperson of the Malta Autism Parents Association and Honorary president of the Mental Health Association (the latter being one with a long association) among other good causes, yet as the PM’s wife she is also wrapped up in partisan politics, which can sometimes turn nasty. I wanted to know how she deals with rancorous back-biting.
“Being involved in politics, you have to be prepared for the sometimes unkind comments. But you have to accept that people have their own agendas. I disagree with mudslinging without proof, especially at election time, from whichever source. I usually leave it to our public relations people to deal with any response if necessary, I prefer to use my energy on positive things”, she said.
There has been a significant focus on increasing female employment rates by encouraging women, including those with small children, to seek employment, in this election campaign, and even before that, I wanted to know how she thinks that can be achieved?
“Changing attitudes, not so much for the younger generation but for women over 45, is the biggest hurdle,” she tells me and then expanded: “The Nationalist Party is proposing to issue vouchers for childcare, to enable women to choose where their children are looked after and persuade them back to work by not taxing women returnees for the first year of employment. Besides, ETC and MCAST both encourage and help women to retrain. Mothers, especially those with young children, need the reassurance that they will manage to balance family responsibilities with their work commitments. Flexible hours and tele-working should be available more widely, particularly beyond the public sector, to enable more mothers to strike that balance.
“Another step in the right direction is the commitment to allow working mothers to utilise their own sick-leave when their children are ill, meaning that they will still retain their vacation leave. In addition, about eight regional after-school clubs will also help women to move away from the part-time niche. Transport will also be provided from the children’s schools to the regional clubs,” she added.
Continuing in that vein, I asked her what issues women should be paying particular attention to in this election campaign.
“Health, education and work for both men and women; services for the elderly and a safe environment for children to play in”, she responded.
An EU report just released claimed that a quarter of children in Malta are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with those with a single parent with a low education level being most at risk. As she is the chairperson of the HSBC Foundation, which incorporates Care for Children under its umbrella, I asked Mrs Gonzi for her reaction to the report and what she thought should be done to help these children?
“One has to analyse what is causing this dire situation. We do have a problem with young women getting pregnant with no stable relationships, separated families and social problems like drug, alcohol and gambling addictions. There are support agencies like Appogg, but it is never enough. The new school curriculum that incorporates a holistic approach should give more personalised attention to such problems and hopefully overcome certain obstacles that prevent people from breaking away from poverty. However, we have to understand that as a society we are all responsible for social problems.”
The HSBC Foundation also incorporates Environment and Heritage, so Mrs Gonzi must really have her work cut out. I referred to the recent Din l-Art Helwa AGM at which its Executive President Simone Mizzi had this to say: “Valleys have been raped and continue to be” and “There is insufficient political will to bring an end to lawlessness and not enough courage to prevent commercial exploitation”. In addition, we have seen many articles in the press and pages on Facebook expressing concern over mature trees, so necessary for clean air and shade apart from enhancing the landscape, disappearing from our urban areas. I asked for her opinion on these issues?
“Mistakes have been made and we need more human resources to enforce the law. With regard to trees, there have been quite a few forestation projects. I love the environment, but there has to be a balance between the environment and development”, she said.
I remarked that, yes, we do also see stories in the press about tree planting. However, 100 year-old trees can never be replaced by saplings.
“Yes, that’s true, but the roots of some old trees are causing damage to our heritage, like at St John’s Cathedral, so sometimes it is a balance between the environment and heritage”, Mrs Gonzi responded.
Being married to a Prime Minister must make her privy to many things unknown to the general public, some of which give her pleasure and others grief, or just worry. How much weight does she think her husband gives to her concerns?
“He definitely listens and we have been married for a long time so he is very aware of concerns I may have”, she said.
Kate Gonzi’s counterpart in this election, Michelle Muscat, talks like a politician rather than the wife of one and was involved in setting up Labour Party policies. I wondered whether the PM’s wife would like to be seen as more active in the political machine and tried to find out whether, behind her meek persona, she challenges strongly what she thinks is going wrong.
“I have been involved in helping people and trying to right wrongs since my youth, which is active involvement in politics. However, being married to a politician, then Prime Minister, opened up that field from the parochial to a much wider level. I was very much part of the work leading to legislation on mental health reform, which extended treatment beyond the psychiatric unit within St Luke’s Hospital and Mount Carmel Hospital into the community. As changes started to be implemented, these were complimented with the setting up of the Richmond Foundation and the Mental Health Association, initially as self-help groups. These have since developed into a foundation that provides community mental health services and educational courses and an association with a focus on families,” she tells me.
Since Mrs Gonzi is coy about her accomplishments, her secretary filled me in with more detail. In 2009, she was appointed Patron of the World Health Organisation-European Commission Partnership Project on User Empowerment in Mental Health. In October 2010 she addressed a conference organised by the World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe) in collaboration with the European Commission in Leuven, Belgium and in November 2010, she chaired a session entitled: ‘Breaking the cycle of stigmatisation and discrimination due to mental health problems’ during a thematic conference organised by the European Commission and Ministry of Health in Portugal. She also supports the Puttinu Cares Foundation and their ongoing residential projects in the UK that accommodate Maltese patients receiving medical treatment.
This by no means covers all her endeavours. I now know her better and the impression I got of Kate Gonzi is that of a woman working alongside the PM rather than behind him.
Published in the Malta Independent on Sunday 03/03/2013
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