The Malta Independent reported yesterday that the government is fighting off its requests, made under the Freedom of Information Act, for a copy of Mrs Konrad Mizzi’s contract
The government did the same with The Sunday Times of Malta’s requests for a copy of Lou Bondì’s contract, holding out for as long as it felt it should or could, but finally complied. Is the government likely to obey the law – the Freedom of Information Act – and give The Malta Independent a copy of the Energy Minister’s wife’s contract? No, I don’t think so – not unless the newspaper takes the matter to court and obtains a judicial ruling. But even then, I imagine the government will do a ‘Farrugia Sacco’ and exhaust all avenues of appeal and various other stalling measures until the matter is no longer relevant except in retrospect. (And speaking of Judge Farrugia Sacco, he’s due to retire next month, though he hasn’t worked for some time because the Chief Justice has not allowed him to, and he will do so without being impeached.)
The Malta Independent has been told that its request cannot Mizzi and her husband were clique members from the word Go. There was no buying or selling going on there, but only the relentless promotion of each other’s interests.
As insiders who know a great deal, Konrad and Sai Mizzi will be protected savagely, because if the Prime Minister trespasses against them, there is a pretty strong likelihood that they will trespass against him. It’s a John Dalli situation (there are others, but he’s in the news right now). Bondì, as the one who chose to hitch himself post-election to the Labour bandwagon, will only make himself even more ridiculous by snitching in retaliation for being dumped, but he’s still going to be kept on because there’s a contract. Yes, a contract which the government signed at a time when it was still thrilled by the acquisition of his scalp.
Now that his scalp is no longer quite so thrilling, and the government has understood that far from impressing us all the acquisition of that scalp has provoked widespread feelings of contempt, it is ready to dump him – but contractually, it can’t. So it feeds Bondì to the lions instead by publishing his contract and giving him enough concertrope to hang himself. But it’s not going to happen with Sai Mizzi. The day the government publishes her contract is the day you know that the Prime Minister wants to dump her husband. Sai Mizzi’s contract will be released only when the Prime Minister wants to stir up ire against her man. The woman herself is irrelevant in this power game. We can’t rail against Mrs Mizzi and we won’t get mad at her if her contract is released because she has no public profile whatsoever. We barely know what she looks like. The electorate’s anger will be directed against her husband. Of course, a great deal of it will also be directed against his boss, which is why his boss will have to choose his moment very carefully if he decides to do it at all.
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How do the Israelis imagine they are helping their cause by setting a 16-year-old Palestinian boy on fire and letting him burn to death in retaliation for the murder (by shooting) of three Israeli teenagers who were abducted? The boy wasn’t even involved in anything – not that this would be any justification, but it makes the murder so much more savagely cruel. He was just somebody walking around near his home when he was snatched off the street, taken to a forest and set alight. The autopsy report says that he was still breathing when he was on fire, and died of 90% burns. The savagery is beyond belief.
The boy was buried two days ago amid huge riots in east Jerusalem, with protestors burning tyres and throwing rocks and fire bombs at police, who fought back with tear gas and stun grenades, making 20 arrests.
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Our government’s support for Israel’s bid for a seat at the UN Security Council could have been foreseen. One of the most prominent visits Muscat and his entourage made in his first few months of government was to Israel. It seemed pretty pointless at the time – why Israel? And Malta won’t be supporting Israel’s bid altruistically. These things tend to be quid pro quo exercises, especially with this government, so it’s a matter of following the money and finding out what Muscat and his people expect from Israel, if they haven’t got it already. We’re unlikely to have a press release about it, or a White House style press conference with a standing army of flags, as with the two cents off petrol. It’s probably “not in the interest of national security”.