For days now, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici has been trumpeting the same tune, during public office hours and using public funds, to sell to the common people the spin that business tycoon Zaren Vassallo gave donations to the PN when in Government in exchange of the former Lowenbrau factory for a pittance.

For days, the shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi, who held political responsibility of the lands department back in 2012, replied and fought back, alone without any support from his party, to clear his name.  The two politicians played a very delicate balancing act, sniping at each other while trying their best not hit two other colleagues: former minister John Dalli and former minister Tonio Fenech.

It is only in this land of disbelief that a government minister holds on to a court document in suspense and presents it to the media six press conferences later. Owen Bonnici crafted the plot of this intricate story, bit by bit. The way he spun the theory of donations by Zaren Vassallo in exchange of public land, leaving out the €8 million cashed in by Marsovin from Vassallo after receiving a grant in the form of public land for a mere half a million by John Dalli who later went on to become the chairman of the same winery, beggars belief.

But the fact that Owen Bonnici threw himself wholeheartedly on this issue even though he is not the minister responsible for lands, shouldn’t deter us from asking pertinent questions emanating from the court document presented by the minister. Zaren Vassallo said under oath in a case he instituted against Marsovin that he lobbied with a government minister back in 2011 when presented with a request to relinquish back the land he bought from Marsovin at such a high price.

Mr Vassallo may be right in saying that he was no part of the original deal cast by John Dalli to give Marsovin the land but he is still duty bound to clarify what he said in court in saying that he lobbied with a minister or specify who that minister is. 

This newspaper sought clarification from all parties involved. Former Ministers Tonio Fenech and Jason Azzopardi categorically denied that they discussed the matter with Mr Vassallo, and Vassallo himself declared that he didn’t speak with the two honourable men. Then who is the minister Mr Vassallo was referring to when he testified in court?

Our sister newspaper The Malta Independent on Sunday yesterday put the question to Mr Vassallo but he declined to comment. One wonders if Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil is ready to ask all former Cabinet members within his Parliamentary group to declare if they had any discussions with Zaren Vassallo on the matter, though that will leave out others who aren’t in Parliament any longer, such as the case with John Dalli who set the ball rolling in 1990 but sat back watching Owen Bonnici delivering a script throughout the past weeks. Only when pressed by this newsroom did he lash out at Jason Azzopardi saying that this was his (Azzopardi’s) froġa – omelette.

Indeed, this is the land of disbelief.