“Have you established who the minister who corrupted Transport Malta officials is?”, Robert Abela was asked. “There is no minister undergoing legal procedures, or criminally indicted and neither am I informed that there are any ongoing investigations”, the Prime Minister replied.
Abela didn’t answer the question. That a minister of government was involved in the corruption scandal isn’t in doubt. That was raised in court. That communication occurred between party officials and three persons accused of corruption isn’t in doubt either.
But Abela isn’t suprised, he’s not appalled. He isn’t worried these revelations will tarnish the name of his party and country. He’s not interested in uncovering the truth and cleaning out the Augean stables. His only interest is to cover up. To deny, refute and resist the truth even when it stares him in the face.
Abela’s replies raise more serious concerns. How does he know there are no ongoing investigations against any minister? Did the police commissioner inform him? If not the commissioner, who did?
Abela’s pathetic justification is that since no minister has been charged, no minister is involved. Even with damning FIAU reports about Konrad Mizzi’s alleged serious crime, no charges were brought. Indeed, they still haven’t. Not because there was no incriminating evidence. Even when magisterial decrees were issued to arrest Pilatus bank officials they were allowed to enter the country, testify in court and slip out undisturbed. When a European arrest warrant was issued against Iosif Galea, he was allowed to travel on holiday with Joseph Muscat. When a historical artefact was found in a minister’s back garden, nothing happened. When another of his cabinet members accepted thousands of euro from a man accused of masterminding Caruana Galizia’s murder, she still ran on the Labour party ticket and was elected. Despite failing to declare that money to the taxman, no action was taken.
Besides, Abela still kicked Konrad Mizzi out of Labour’s parliamentary group even though there was no court action against him. He also forced Chris Cardona out. He had no pending cases either.
Abela chooses to deceive, confuse and distort. He evades the question and disturbingly continues to cover up and condone abuse. Instead of the transparency that Labour once promised, we have secrecy, obfuscation and protection. Instead of radical anti-corruption measures and ruthless pursuit of cronyism, embezzlement, bribery and graft, Abela absolves his friends - with verbose vague replies. Why does Abela keep replying in riddles when a yes-no reply would suffice? He simply cannot afford to be honest.
“There are also allegations that there was a system organised by a political party to corrupt Transport Malta Officials, could it be Labour?”, Abela was pressed. “We categorically denied any organised system by the Labour Party as you describe - and therefore I need not look into it”.
Abela wants us to take him on trust. He wants us to believe that since the Labour Party ‘categorically denied’ any involvement, it must be true. Labour denied many things - Konrad Mizzi even denied having a Panama company. Joseph Muscat claimed he couldn’t remember when he met Yorgen Fenech despite inviting him to his birthday party at Girgenti, travelling with him to Italy to attend the wedding of Pilatus’ chairman. Chris Cardona claimed he wasn’t at the Acapulco brothel but refused to share his mobile phone location.
Abela is not remotely interested in the honest truth. He’s even less interested in doing what’s right for his country and party. His priority is protecting his party, his ministers and himself. Abela is reduced to publicly exonerating Labour while the pervasive corrosiveness slowly but surely eats away at the soul of his party and country. Abela has no choice but to continue to shield crooks - that is what Labour has done for years. From Brian Tonna to Karl Cini, from Ram Tumuluri to Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, from Adrian Hillman to Edward Caruana, from Konrad Mizzi to Rosianne Cutajar, from Anton Refalo to Keith Schembri, from Chris Cardona to Joseph Muscat. The country was repeatedly told these people did nothing wrong. Even President George Vella insisted setting up secret financial structures in Panama was not illegal. One by one, the truth is catching up with them. And so it will with Robert Abela too.
“Did you speak to any of the other people involved?”, Abela was asked in reference to individuals accused of corruption at Transport Malta. Abela’s vague evasive answer - “I already replied that there are no investigations, accusations or legal procedures against any minister”. That doesn’t sound like the answer of an honest man. Why can’t Abela simply answer yes or no? If Abela never had illicit contact with these people, including one Philip Eldrick Zammit, a former Labour councillor, why is it so difficult for Abela to give a straight answer?
Clint Mansueto, a Transport Malta director was accused of bribery, unlawful exaction, trading in influence, forgery, fraudulent alteration of acts, making use of false documents and false declarations to a public authority. He admitted to police he felt “pressured” to criminally favour certain individuals simply because “they were working at a villa belonging to a government minister”. His phone was riddled with messages from persons “linked to a political party” with details of candidates sitting the driving test.
This is the pitiful state into which Abela and Labour have reduced this country. If even as tenuous a link to a government minister as “working on his villa” is enough to win you undeserved and illicit favours, we can only imagine what being the Minister himself earns you? Or the Prime minister for that matter.
Yet for Abela nothing is wrong, nothing to see here, just move along. How many hundreds of messages from “persons linked to a political party” involved in corruption does Abela need before he finally turns up to work at Mile End? Abela will never address the pervasive and all-consuming corruption within his party and government - simply because he has benefitted so handsomely from it himself.