Not just a life, but a lifetime of privilege was the going trade with Joseph Muscat, his circle of playmates and the likes of Joe Cuschieri, who finally got around to resigning from the specially designed role of CEO at the MFSA.
The privilege itself was also tailor-made to meet the demands and needs of the Labour come-uppers. Back benchers appointed to boards and other institutions, direct orders, jobs paying extravagantly along with a range of perks and added privileges, immunity from prosecution on those infringements that slip through the gate, social privilege allowing politically exposed persons to attend weddings of Iranian business men and an inheritance law that saw to it that any vote received translated into favour, fortune and opportunity.
Silvio Parnis, ex-Parliamentary Secretary for Active Ageing and Persons with Disability, recently expressed his opinion that Robert Abela had insulted him by leaving him out of his Cabinet and that since he would not be able to pass on favours to his constituents he was useless as an MP. The privilege of serving the constituents by representing their voice and their needs in Parliament, apparently, means nothing. In other words, if he himself does not enjoy privilege then how can his voters?
On a grander scale, with the whole of the Cabinet, clearly, if they are not entitled to unlimited privilege than why should they bother? Keith Schembri may be the prime mover in this sense. Is that all they saw during the 25 years in opposition? Others lording it? Did they only see that to serve your country means taking privilege to its farthest extent? Had they not understood that when Dr George Borg Olivier waved the new Constitution and Declaration of Independence that we all, as a nation, became responsible for the good of our country?
Looking back, Guido De Marco’s election as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1990 was insensitive to the separation of powers. Then Eddie Fenech Adami set new horizons when he made himself President of Malta, but at least he had given a new future to the country and was a respected leader who put his country first, not someone forced to resign. Jason Azzopardi was perhaps more naïve than abusing privilege, though clearly wrong to troll the Fenechs for a room. The famous clock tal-lira of Tonio Fenech was like a spare Christmas gift donated to a society for raffle. The bourgeoisie who had lived through the war and also done their best in developing and investing in our country after independence were nowhere near the level of social climbing done by the present bunch of greedy Ministers and their holidays with Jorgen Fenech or the fat consortiums that overcharge us for electricity and don’t pay their taxes.
Straight into the wall. That is what Simon Busuttil had predicted of Labour. And he was right. Give a fast car to a novice and they slam the gas pedal to the floor.
Prof. Edward Scicluna negotiated his privilege as a Minister for Finance and that meant leaving for a €100,000 salary as Governor of the Central Bank. We wait and see what Joe Cuschieri’s package will be now that he has left the MFSA, having the added privilege of family connections. Konrad Mizzi’s package of €80,000 didn’t stick and he must be feeling particularly victimized because of that. This, though, over and above the Panama accounts, 17 Black and Sai Mizzi’s “see what I can do for you” neat package. Muscat’s own departure remains shrouded in secrecy but his jaunts across the Med, across the Atlantic and down to his wife’s favourite shopping mall, do not correspond with the declaration of assets.
From early on, opinion also became a privilege that comes with office. Whether it was divorce, abortion, euthanasia, corruption, justice and immunity, Muscat and his minions at One TV, his cabinet and choice of important appointments of state, flew above merit and public opinion, over Parliament and straight to the power of being the Prime Minister. Civic rights were used to gain control of opinion and bartered in the same way as immunity was. The many corrupt contracts that were never presented to Parliament for scrutiny were based on the opinion of the few. Democracy only until election. Bring in office means doing whatever you want and your opinion is not even worth the seat you have in Parliament. The disrespect that has been shown in Parliament by Government members, even recently when they did not show up for the budget speech by Bernard Grech just confirms this arrogance.
It was soon evident, when the newly elected Muscat traded his privilege of having a car and driver, into a cash remuneration. To those who knew only how to serve themselves, privilege came as a right, not an honour.
All of this makes it very difficult for the largest cabinet in the history of Malta and the 3rd largest in Europe for a population of half a million, to take stock of their purpose and function in society and in the administration of the country. To see their own size in the total output of GDP of the country. Probably their focus at the moment is on how to send a complimentary gift to their supporters without falling into the roly poly mistake, seeing where that got Parnis. We’ll see. Vouchers seem to be on trend.
All of which reaches its climax in the privilege of immunity. Clear to all except perhaps those who job it is to prosecute that far too many have not been arrested for crimes against office and for criminal offences. Immunity comes with the job and title and seems to be one of the perks.
The civil service was there to balance the powers of the Ministers. Nowadays it too has been institutionalized into the system and leaves room for the office or influence of Nexia BT in Castille and for OPM staff to received extra income from them.
It has indeed been a life of privilege for so many in these past years and will probably continue to be so. Money, power, status come marked in a box with a tick on it. People need to not only think very carefully about which box they tick but to force change on the system by choosing honest and upstanding persons who can offer something other than graft and who have the ability and the desire to serve their country with integrity. The future belongs to service, not privilege.