The last three weeks have exposed a weak side to Joseph Muscat's leadership and no devised deviation tactic will be able to conceal it. In spite of the corruption of the crime scene and the political cover up and thanks to the insistence of the press to uncover the whole truth there was no way of avoiding biting the bullet.
The handling of the Malliagate has left the Prime Minister's image greatly diminished in everyone's eyes. Throwing a fit in Parliament, frothing at the mouth and with steam coming from the ears, is no sign of mettle and resolve you'd expect from a Prime Minister who has got a hold of the situation. Especially when we know that that was all show and that when push came to shove, for three whole weeks Muscat vacillated and vacillated. And then had a nap before he vacillated some more.
Furthermore the inability to take considered and timely decisions on Manuel Mallia's case, which any of our European counterparts would have taken in a couple of days if not in a matter of hours and raises the unavoidable comparison with the swift reaction in Anglu Farrugia's less consequential case.
THE DEFIANT MINISTER
When a respected Prime Minister asks for a Minister's resignation for that Minister it only becomes a question of which dotted line to sign on. In this case, an appointed subordinate felt he could defy and stonewall his Prime Minister with impunity. Why? Was it because the Minister felt he was untouchable for one reason or another? Or was it because he knew that, even if he were forcibly dismissed, Muscat would be still gushing praise and hinting at a later job offer?
One can imagine that, just as the seriousness of a Minister's driver firing twice at a car can be brushed off with a simple "OK, sieħbi", errant cabinet members are ushered to the backbench where, sooner or later, they can be assured that a tailor-made Government job is in the making. Just the time it takes to disappear somewhat from public view.
LIKE PONTIUS PILATE
Even if the cover-up were only the doing of a small group of police officers - and that's a 72-point size "if" - and Government's only guilt was to believe, in good faith, what it was being told by its officials, it wouldn't have taken the Prime Minister and his closest aides more than a few hours to realise what went on. Which is the time it took the rest of us, looking on as perfect outsiders to the whole fracas. The Nationalist Party's protests at the creation of a board of inquiry , made of former members of the judiciary, to investigate the events during and after that fateful night was no "attack on the judiciary".
The Prime Minister not only has the exclusive prerogative to pick and dismiss Ministers but he also has the responsibility to decide on the political responsibility or otherwise of those he solely appoints. Such responsibility cannot be simply delegated to a group of appointees. The more one thinks about it the more one is convinced that Muscat wished for Mallia to be spared and dreaded the prospect of taking the responsibility of execution. He acquiesced only when public opinion refused to relent even if he washed his hands by delegating responsibility. Just like Pontius Pilate!
A TARNISHED POLICE FORCE
One more observation to make about this story was the nosedive the police force has taken in the last two years. In spite of many honest and well-meaning officers, the recorded phone calls and the immediate aftermath show that the malaise is spread throughout all the ranks: from the lowliest constable all the way up to the highest post.
From removing a Commissioner to stall a forthcoming prosecution, to bringing back retired members of the corps for no other reason than a palatable political inclination, to using policemen for catering services, to the political transfer of hundreds of officers ... this was all as a direct consequence of the pits this Government plunged the force in. In this kind of context the revelation of the contempt for authority, nonchalance at shots being fired at someone in a residential area and the amateurism in securing a crime scene should come as no surprise. We had it coming.
ANOTHER COWBOY
Meanwhile, it's been reported that the driver of Charles Buhagiar, member of parliament and consultant to the Prime Minister, which posts includes the perk of a chauffeur-driven car, assaulted two wardens who had the temerity to issue a ticket for being parked on a double yellow line. Thank goodness he was not a "security driver" with a firearm ...