The expectations were high for the Prime Minister’s decision on Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. The more time passed, and the more he kept repeating the same mantra that one day he will make up his mind, the more it was thought that the PM would come up with a verdict that would take the government out of the political crisis it was hit with since the Panama Papers scandal erupted.
What was expected, of course, was the outright removal of two people who brought the whole country to a halt with their irresponsible behaviour.
But, when the time came, the PM once again failed miserably. There was no Houdini act. A precarious situation, if it was possible, has now become a total collapse for a Prime Minister who has lost all sense of decency.
In his attempt to find a solution, he has confirmed that his hands are tied when it comes to Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri.
He has kept them both by his side in spite of the harm they have caused his government in the national sphere and the country in international terms. He is, as Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil rightly put it, their hostage. By keeping them at Castille, the question as to who is really ruling the country is now a serious one indeed.
He tried to appear bold by ordering Konrad Mizzi to resign the deputy leadership post of the Labour Party. What the PM did by taking this road is to say that while he thinks Konrad Mizzi is not fit to be second in command of the party, he still believes that he is fit to run a ministry. Once again, PM Muscat gave more importance to the interests of the party than those of the nation.
Joseph Muscat now is truly and fully responsible for the mess he has created. He was accused that he did not want to get rid of Mizzi and Schembri, and his decision to stick with them has now converted an allegation into a confirmation.
Konrad Mizzi remains the most powerful minister in the Cabinet, with fewer responsibilities on paper but with a greater influence on the PM. In a nutshell, the Prime Minister first says that Konrad Mizzi was naive and then gives him a promotion.
I do not think that the ministers who, in private and in public, urged the Prime Minister to decide are happy with the outcome. Mizzi and Schembri were the prime culprits of a government that was struggling in deep waters but still had a life-jacket on. Now, this life-jacket has been thrown away, and the government is sinking into the abyss.
Neither will they be happy to see the return of Manuel Mallia among them. The former Home Affairs Minister re-enters the Cabinet after he was sacked 18 months ago in the wake of a shooting incident involving his driver. That he is back on the ministerial payroll is another poor judgment by the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister also believes that he has a good sense of timing. But facts show otherwise. He first procrastinated for nine weeks, no matter how much pressure kept piling up on him to settle the issue. Then, when matters had subsided and the Panama Papers scandal had taken the back burner in the media and in the people’s minds, he rekindled the fire with the most outrageous decision. He could not have got it more wrong.
The decisions he took will not help to curb public outcry; they will only serve to increase outrage against a Prime Minister that has totally lost the plot.
Joseph Muscat should leave Castille and take up writing scripts for pantomimes. He would do a better job there.