"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings," Cassius told Brutus in the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. It is the weak human condition that often drives us to our own misfortune and not our fate. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had a decision to take regarding Minister Konrad Mizzi and his personal assistant Keith Schembri emanating from the Panama papers affair. He failed to take the decision then and we are all paying for it now. The reason he did not decide may be various, either from sincere friendship and obligation or because of more sinister reasons, such as that they may have some hold over him! Whatever the reasons, he is the Maltese primus inter pares, first among equals and he made a promise on the day he became Prime Minister that he would look at nothing else when the Maltese common good was at risk! In my book, the Maltese common good is severely at risk now in the eyes of the world. Being a Prime Minister is like sitting on a chair of nails, and he should decide to do something about the situation fast before our name is muddied even further!
The second refusal by the European Parliament of the person nominated for the post of the European Court of Auditors by this government, the first refusal being that of Dr Tony Abela followed by the present refusal of Leo Brincat who only got through the EP selective committee’s by one vote because his colleague Dr Alfred Sant sat on the same committee. It is obvious that the European Parliament, which represents us all, is trying to send a message to the Maltese government about the Panama Papers. The European Parliament (EP) has a co-decision procedure with the Council of Ministers (CM) of the EU in passing EU legislation and represents the Peoples of Europe, while the Council of Ministers represents the States of European member states. The Maltese government’s reaction to this refusal was the worst possible reaction imaginable. The Labour government decided to ignore the EP and forge ahead by taking the decision to the CM. In this issue, the EP’s suggestion is consultative. This means that our government is ignoring the EP and by taking the decision to the CM is causing a potential institutional collision between the EP and the CM! Now which member of the Council of Ministers wishes to see that happen? What if the CM refutes Leo Brincat’s nomination as well, would not that be another terrible slap in the face for Malta’s name and that of its citizens? Is this move worth that risk?
The Labour Party decided to overtly attack the three PN MEPs who voted with their political EEP grouping, conveniently forgetting that Leo Brincat himself stated before the selective Committee that he was forced to vote with the Labour government against the ‘No Confidence’ motion moved against Minister Konrad Mizzi in the Maltese Parliament which represents us all. The Labour Party attacked the three MEPs who voted against Leo Brincat, as if the vote depended on them alone, failing to mention that another 381 members of the EP voted against him with a difference between the nays and the ayes of more than 150 votes! The Labour Party attacked the three PN MEPs who voted against Leo Brincat, conveniently forgetting that where matters of corruption and conscience are involved, there should be no party alliance in voting against such people because conscience is supreme and so is the common good. The Labour Party also conveniently forgets that members from all political groupings in the EP including their own Socialist grouping voted against Leo Brincat! The Labour Party also conveniently forgets that worse may be yet to come if they detract further!
To further compound matters, we now have Dr Sant calling for an eye for an eye, and Minister and Deputy Leader Dr Chris Cardona arrogantly using a bullying tone when speaking some illogical garbage about showing the EP how strong we or our candidates are! When logic flies out of the windows in political decision making and discourse, expect the worse. This kind of arrogant discourse only goes to accentuate the inferiority complex we sometimes exhibit couched in the neo-colonialist mentality often exhibited by some. To claim that we are the best in the world in the face of some deficiency we have committed! This often belies the language used by the Labour Party politicians just as in the years of lead when they were in government between 1971 and 1987 when our democracy and rights were in constant danger and we were the best in the world. As it is, it seems to be everyone’s fault including fate, except their own!
I find it particularly hard to imagine how in such a situation, the two involved in the Panama Papers debacle, do not simply resign their positions to conserve the public good that they are supposed to uphold, and preventing the embarrassment of their friend the Prime Minister. But they arrogantly simply hang on to power single-handedly cropping the chances of several of their colleagues and future nominations! I say this because if we persist in this error and start a war with the European Parliament, which is already holding its own inquiry into the Panama Papers issue, there is no knowing where this will end up. The last thing both we in Malta or Europe need, is a war between the Council of Ministers’ Presidency which Malta will hold from January till June next year, and the other legislative branch of the EU which is the European Parliament. It also gives the wrong impression of our country because of a couple of people who ‘may simply want to feather their bed fast! It is also not fair to keep sacrificing people’s careers, a result of the hard-headedness of a couple of people in the governing hierarchy. This is already the third such refusal! They say that “all is fair in love and war”, but do we really need a war with the EP because if we get one, all of us will lose out?
I had always thought that the downfall of the Labour government in the years 1971 and 1987 would be largely a failed socialist economic outlook. I do believe now that the downfall of this present Labour government will be largely an ethical issue! A spineless inability or a lack of desire to do what is objectively right!
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