Looking back at the year that’s about to close, I’d say it was the best of times and the worst of times, with a bit of each affecting both Labour and the Nationalist Party. Muscat began the year as Lord of the Bling but ended it with the bling of his cronies escaping his control, and beginning to lord it over him.
Labour began the year confidently, as it had ended the previous year. By mid-year it reconfirmed the general election victory with an equally large majority votes in the European elections.
These results must have convinced Joseph Muscat that he was right to be cynical about the Maltese electorate, that all it cared about was the short-term impact on private spending power.
That explains why the government and its officials began to behave cynically without even bothering to cover up what they were doing. If the similarity to past Labour governments was becoming obvious to more and more people, it didn’t seem to matter.
Take the travel. China was definitely a favourite destination especially for the energy Minister as he sought a piece of paper to cover up the trail of evasions and half-truths about the energy policy. The Prime Minister had his fair share of travelling also. He had a lot of selling to do, didn’t he? The citizenship scheme turned our PM into a globetrotting sales man.
To date we don’t know for sure if the scheme is a huge success (as was predicted). Thanks to the Opposition, the secrecy clause was removed from the original law, but do we really know who has bought into the scheme so far? Did the package include a national honour on Republic Day or was that only for the super high-end investors?
In his day, Dom Mintoff’s travels often entailed doing so to scrounge aid and money out of foreign governments, especially ones with unsavoury international reputations. The Muscat government is not very different, except it is ready to consider the private sector as well for its little deals.
What may be different is Muscat’s awe before people with money. Money means talent – for him – and money was a prevalent theme this year. Muscat decided to sell hard. Everything was price-tagged and everything had to go. This year there was a feeling of urgency as though “It’s now or never” was being taken literally.
In 2014, secrecy and lack of transparency were cemented as a hallmark of the Muscat government, as it had been in the golden years of Labour. Contracts, memorandums of understanding, agreements and deals were all done with pomp; however, in true dictatorial style, the contents and details are still a secret.
Why? As Mintoff used to put it, it is not in the best public interest for such matters to be made public. The list is long but the most striking are definitely the power station agreement with China and the other with Electrogas, and, of course, the Henley & Partners agreement. Parliament was even expected to approve agreements like these without being able to see the actual contract!
Cronyism was a hallmark of the Muscat government from the beginning. But this year saw it becoming even more blatant and ugly. There was the long list of abuse of power and shady behaviour by members of the cabinet and their families and friends.
Of course the Sai Mizzi contract, Joe Mizzi’s visit to Spain, Chris Cardona and the casino licence, Helena Dalli’s MEPA permit, the deal with Café Premier, Australia Hall and the Labour Party, the charade with Judge Farrugia Sacco, Owen Bonnici, Cyrus Engerer, Luciano Busuttil, etc.
By the time the Manuel Mallia saga came along, people had had enough. Muscat was forced to admit that people do not just care about what’s in it financially for them.
While all this was going on PN did some serious house cleaning and soul searching. Dr Simon Busuttil grew in stature and credibility. He rolled up his sleeves and found his comfort in his new style. His speeches grew bolder and his delivery improved drastically. As the year draws to an end, the wind in the PN’s sails has begun to pick up.
Taghna lkoll Hit Parade
This week I had lots of entries and suggestions. Here are a few which sum up this year’s events.
1. Stay with me – Muscat to the floaters
2. Family Affair – The Cabinet
3. I Heard it Through the Grapevine – Malta’s Journalists
4. That’s What Friends Are For – Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando to Muscat & Mallia
5. Another One Bites the Dust – Muscat to the Cabinet
In my next article, the hit parade will peer into the future and try to predict what 2015 will hold in store for all of us. Your suggestions are most welcome.