A constant political element which should worry the Opposition is that despite all the scandals that have embroiled this Government over the past two and half years, none has really stuck in the collective memory of the Maltese electorate, capable of dealing Labour an electoral blow. Possibly there were too many. But I do not think that this is the real reason. I think that the Opposition is also to blame. Starting with the Citizenship by Investment scheme, going on to the Cafe Premier scandal, the Zonqor development debacle, the endless cases of police controversy of which I have lost count and the dysfunctional Public Transport system together with Gaffarena’s shady deals, the Opposition is still failing to show any mettle to impress the floating voter.

At best the PN will only succeed in denting the majority that Muscat enjoys but nothing else. The Gaffarena property deal explains why the Opposition is not making political headway.

For not so clear reasons, the Opposition has kept Gaffarena’s property deal at a political level. It was only interested in bringing about the resignation of Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon, even though, from the way this scandal developed, it is now crystal clear that it was all orchestrated in Castile. But for unknown reasons, the Opposition failed to nail the real person or persons down, despite the fact that it had at hand the file recording the whole story. In my opinion, the mastermind behind this imbroglio could have easily been identified.

Nor has the Opposition really attacked the expropriation procedure. If the Government really wanted to expropriate this property in Strada Zecca because there was a genuine public purpose then it should have expropriated the whole building and not half of it. The Government only expropriated the half that belongs to Mark Gaffarena. The rest of the building was not, and would have been expropriated only after Gaffarena had obtained the second half. The manner in which expropriation was executed indicates clearly that there was no true public purpose behind this move. Had there been a genuine public scope, the Government would have expropriated the whole property and not half of it. This is the first case where the State has only expropriated half of the ownership of a property. In itself, this is sufficient, in my opinion, to annul this deal.

But I am not sure if the Opposition is really behind the cancellation of this deal and I am not sure whether it wants to impede Mark Gaffarena from becoming a millionaire overnight (a phrase used by the Opposition). If the Opposition really wants to stop all this from happening, it has all the legal means to do so. It is very easy but nobody has discussed this till now

From time to time, we hear that Parliament reigns supreme. Therefore, what the Opposition needed to do in such a circumstance was to go to Parliament and present a motion for the cancellation of this deal or contract. This can be done and should be done rather urgently before Gaffarena engages in new property deals over his acquired property and the whole process will become more complicated.

Had the Opposition followed this road, it would have showed that it really means business and wants clean politics. The PN would have sent a strong message that it is not there for political mileage but to safeguard the interest of the people and the property owned by Government, which finally, belongs to all of us.

Moreover, it would have forced Muscat to bite the bullet. Muscat has said that if it is proven that there are irregularities, he would cancel this deed. It is now clear that this deed with Gaffarena is full of irregularities. By going to Parliament, the Opposition would have made its position very clear. The motion would have been subject to a vote and this would have made it clear to the electorate, who are those MPs in favour of Gaffarena and want to support him to continue to enjoy his shady profits and those who are seeking the common good of the country. Definitely, this would have put Muscat’s PL into a tight corner. Muscat and the rest of the MPs would have had to decide whether to support the motion and have this deal cancelled (which is also the plea of many Labourites) or not. In so doing, the Opposition would have gained political credibility. The fact that the PN failed to take this stand shows that at the bottom of it all, this party is also afraid of Gaffarena.

The next question would be why is the Opposition reluctant or afraid to terminate Gaffarena’s deal by Parliament? Not even a private member’s bill was explored in this case. Is there a link with the financing of the PN? I am saying this because when Deputy Leader of the PN, Beppe Fenech Adami, was asked point blank by a journalist whether the Gaffarenas fund the PN, he did not give a clear answer, thus disclosing his unease on the matter. Many have concluded, rightly so, that the bottom-line is that the Gaffarenas are backing the PN. This explains why this scandal will have no effect on Muscat’s political credibility despite the fact that all the trading started in Castile.

In these circumstances, I strongly believe that if the PN wants to change this negative perception, it is still in time to pass a motion in Parliament, either as an Opposition or through a private members bill, asking Parliament, which is the supreme body of the land, to quash this deal. Parliament has the legal right to do it. Finally, one of the parties to this deal is Government itself. If the PN fails to do this, I will have cause to believe that the PN is not after the truth but only to take political mileage while supporting those making hefty profits out of such shady transactions.