<p>After weeks of bashing the press at every event that he attended,&nbsp;Pravind&nbsp;Jugnauth&nbsp;<wbr />suddenly decided to hold a meeting at the PMO with the directors of the different press groups to discuss ways to improve the communication between the government and the press.&nbsp;</p>

Jugnauth's decision to hold a meeting came after he had instructed his crowd of bodyguards to prevent journalists from going inside the tent at the site of Mont Choisy Le parc – where Jugnauth went for a site visit two weeks ago. Even though the promoters of the park had already invited the journalists for refreshments inside the tent, they were forced to abide by the instructions of the prime minister and leave the journalists waiting outside. Not only had Jugnauth refused to answer the journalists' questions on that day, but he also made sure that they stayed as far away as possible from him.  

Jugnauth's decision to meet with the press also came after he had accused the journalists of being in contact with the drug mafia. In fact, according to the prime minister, not only is the press siding with drug dealer Peroomal Veeren, but some journalists are even the accomplices of drug traffickers – even though he had never thought of denouncing them.  

So, it came as a big surprise to everyone when Jugnauth announced that he wanted to have a discussion with the directors of each press group. In fact, Jugnauth's decision was so sudden that he chose to send the invitations and schedule a meeting on the very next day. 

On that same night, at the cocktail party organised by the Chinese Embassy to welcome the new Chinese ambassador, Jugnauth even walked over to the journalists – who had to stand in a small space that was allocated to them – to remind them of his wish to meet with them at his office the following day. 

Then finally, after seven months in power and weeks of press-bashing, Jugnauth finally met with the journalists at his office, where he talked to them about respect and cordial relationships.  

While it was a good initiative, Jugnauth was greatly mistaken if he thought that the independent press could be coaxed and that respect was simply given to those who ask for it. If Jugnauth is truly honest about wanting to improve the relationship between the press and the government, he can start by bringing the Freedom of Information Act and finding ways to ease the job of journalists who constantly have to fight through the crowd of VIPSUs to get answers from ministers in government. 

In the meantime, whether the prime minister decides to have another meeting with the press next week or every month, the press will continue to denounce scandals and ask pertinent questions, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon.