“Waiting for Godot” is a play in two acts by Samuel Beckett in which two characters wait in vain for the arrival of Godot. The original French version was written in 1953 but the play adapts itself to any era, any time and any place. In true theatre-of-the-absurd style, the play is totally open to interpretation as to who or what Godot really is.
For me, today, Godot would be transparency, good governance, and having the political authorities do the right thing. The play would go down so well today. I could think of a few good actors who, a while back, might not have been interested in taking part in such a play because they had had enough of the previous government, accusing it of arrogant and corrupt ways, only to find out that arrogance has taken on a new radical meaning today, with corruption being redefined.
Take the latest episode in the series “Joseph Muscat shows you how things are done” – the Cafe Premier €4.2 million bailout. The total surreal absurdity of the whole plot leaves Beckett way behind.
After nearly 25 years in Opposition, Labour comes to power. The man leading the party decides that one of his top priorities is to buy a café in one of the most important piazzas of our capital city.
That priority is strange in itself. But the really absurd thing is that the Prime Minister wants, on behalf of the Government of Malta, to buy a café that already belongs to the Government.
That’s not even the whole story. The private entity then running the cafe actually owes money to the Government. The young Prime Minister wants to close the matter – so he takes possession of the café by paying €4.2 million to the debtor.
I realise that it’s difficult to get one’s head round that plot in one go. So here is a Cliff Notes summary:
On behalf of the Government of Malta, Joseph Muscat decides to buy a café - which already belongs to the government.
The people currently leasing the café owe money to the government.
Muscat’s government treats the debtors as though they were creditors – and instead of collecting what it is owed it pays millions to its own debtors.
Some sections of the media had been hinting at what had taken place but it was the damning report, delivered on Tuesday by the National Audit Office, which really uncovered just how scandalous the whole deal is. It is by far Muscat’s biggest scandal to date, in spite of the stiff competition.
The report clearly states that it was Muscat who decided, in an e-mail dated 7 August 2013, to give the “go-ahead” for this absurd transaction to take place.
Why did it take place? When did the dealings actually begin? The affair smells of a pre-election deal. If it isn’t, Muscat should come clean and give a rational explanation for this surreal agreement.
Don’t hold your breath. Waiting for an explanation might turn out to be like waiting for Godot. Don’t be surprised if we’re told that an explanation is not in the public interest.
From parliamentary questions to mobile phones
It’s long been obvious that most members of Muscat’s Cabinet are not comfortable answering the Opposition's parliamentary questions. Here’s the latest update: there are now approximately 1,000 unanswered PQs.
That figure leaves out, however, the many other questions which were answered in a misleading or incomplete manner.
Take my series of questions on the use of the paediatric day-care play area at Mater Dei. As any dictionary will tell you, a ‘paediatric’ area has to do with children. However, this play area is currently being used as a bed space for patients who are mainly elderly.
After being misled into thinking that this area has always been used as an in-patient area, further questions revealed that the conditions of the patients admitted to this area include “angina”, a chest-pain heart condition normally found in patients with an average age of 62 years. Not exactly paediatric.
The Government’s lack of transparency in answering PQs reflects a constant effort to hide the truth or a fear of being caught.
This same fear has recently led to Justyne Caruana and Carmelo Abela prohibiting the presence of mobile phones at meetings. Neither of them realised that through their actions they would actually anger those concerned to the point that they would make this issue public.
Hats off to the person who went public about Justyne Caruana and to UHM secretary-general Josef Vella who opted for an on-camera message which went viral.
Caruana’s and Abela’s efforts to shut people up has had the completely opposite effect. People now feel even more empowered to speak up. And so we should. Otherwise, Muscat and his cronies will keep on doing things their way.