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Malta ‘prime slot’ for ambassadorial assignment
by David Kelleher
Malta is considered a prime location for US presidents to send
their most favoured people and those who contributed most to
the Republican Party’s election fund.
MSNBC television news reported that top ambassadorial assignments
are given to those who have given more than US$2m to the GOP
(Grand Old Party) during the 2000 campaign and twice that amount
over the past decade.
Malta is listed with Jamaica and the Bahamas as prime slots,
while the most lucrative are those postings in Britain, France,
Portugal, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Ireland.
According to the MSNBC, some of the most glamorous jobs –
ambassadorships for Spain, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands – are still up for grabs.
Like his predecessors, President Bill Clinton also named financial
supporters to embassy postings.
In the last few weeks, Bush announced he is nominating: Howard
Leach, a San Francisco investor, as ambassador to France; W.S.
Farish, a Kentucky horse breeder and investor, as ambassador
to Britain; Richard Egan, chairman of EMC Corp., as ambassador
to Ireland; Anthony Gioia, a Buffalo pasta magnate, as ambassador
to Malta; Sue Cobb, a Florida lawyer and businesswoman, as ambassador
to Jamaica; John Palmer, a Mississippi cell-phone magnate, as
ambassador to Portugal; Craig Stapleton, a Connecticut consultant,
as ambassador to the Czech Republic; J. Richard Blankenship,
a Florida veterinarian and investment banker, as ambassador
to the Bahamas; and Charles Heimbold, the former CEO of Bristol-Myers,
as ambassador to Sweden.
MSNBC said all of Bush’s nominees have long and loyal ties
to the Republican Party and the Bush family. They have given
a total of US$3.5m to Republican campaigns, US$2.1m during the
2000 campaign. Contributions during the 2000 campaign alone
work out to an average of US$200,000 per ambassador.
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