The spectre that haunted the Lorry Sant days is back. Corruption is slowly but surely becoming the order of the day and arrogance and the accompanying bullying tactics have become typical characteristics of the country's leaders. What remains of our natural environment is being shamelessly savaged for no other reason than pay back to the supporting clique of shady friends. In the meantime, this administration is peppered with scandal worthy of soap operas and manages to keep us all gasping while attempting to second-guess the nature of the next scandal.
The pizza connection and institutionalised corruption
The fact that high-ranking police officers were - and are - business partners of men implicated in shady deals is already a serious cause for concern, but the latest revelations that the same police officers were - and are - allegedly close to Italian Mafia connections is outright shocking. Government simply cannot let these things go by as if nothing has happened, even more so considering that the same police officers were handed semi-political appointments to public high-ranking and very well paid posts by the government of the day.
The Pizza connection is not a one off scandal. It adds to numerous others which having been piling up in the last two years. Strada Zekka, Zonqor Point and Café Premier are more than just fancy names for the latest string of public scandals; they are government-supported scandals and, as such, the government has a lot to answer for. But it seems to lack the decency to do so.
Labour's reluctance to take clear and definitive action against such abuse will only serve to legitimise scandal and normalise this type of behaviour by gnawing at the principles of honesty and good governance.
Anglu and the unholy alliance of the fourth floor
When it was on the Opposition benches, Labour promised us zero tolerance of corruption - an electoral pledge that was compromised at birth because the party had secretly forged agreements with a few of its traditional ideological foes. Anglu Farrugia, back then the party's deputy leader, had already sensed that the unholy alliance with a bunch of financier businessman forged on the fourth floor of the party's headquarters would lose the Labour Party its soul and would take it back to the days when corruption was not only rampant but also institutionalised.
From Opposition, Labour promised us good governance, implying values such as accountability, transparency, inclusiveness and participation, but from now in government they are anything but accountable and transparent. Were it not for a persistent Opposition and a free press, most of the scandals would not have seen the light of day.
Who needs the honoraria? For Labour, €500 is plain cheap
Way back in the 2008 general election, the government of the day decided to rectify the situation where all members of parliament, apart from Cabinet members, held on to both the salary that went with their day job and the honoraria paid to parliamentarians. There were valid justifications for the move: Cabinet members had lost their Parliamentary honoraria - despite retaining their duties as MPs - and the Ministerial honoraria had fallen below the salaries for posts with equivalent responsibilities. Nevertheless, once Joseph Muscat smelled blood, he craftily turned the issue into an election one that paid off with votes at the polls.
Following the election, Muscat appointed a commission to look into the matter of Cabinet and Parliamentary salaries which, unsurprisingly, concluded that Ministers' take home pay should double! It is obvious. If Cyrus takes home €60,000, why should his Minister take 25 per cent less?
Of course, Muscat has up to now kept his word and has not increased the salary of his ministers and parliamentarians. Well - not directly, that is, because in the last two years we have been constantly hearing stories of how Labour MP's are getting to keep four jobs and a driver, or getting handsome golden handshakes to complement their meagre ministerial salary. In the meantime, others have availed themselves of 'good' business deals and speedy building permits from Mepa to develop property in picturesque valleys. Who needs the honoraria?
Gone are the days when corruption was simply deemed another burden on the tax payer.
Mr Puli is the Opposition spokesman for Citizens' Rights, Civil Rights, Equality, Social Dialogue, Consumers' Rights, Internet Rights, Communications, Broadcasting and Audio-Visual Policy