The last time I met George Farrugia, now at the centre of investigations about Enemalta and oil, was at the airport while we were waiting for different planes.

We both hail from Hamrun and I have known him since he was a young man.

He told me he had split from his family business (and thus Austin Gatt’s mention of the family business, John’s Garage, might have been unfair on the rest if what he is accused of had nothing to do with the family business).

He said he was now upgrading petrol stations and he had an Italian (Sicilian?) with him and seemed interested in finding opportunities in Libya.

Other than that, I do not know.

But what I do know, bar some other developments which, as I said some days ago, might still happen between now and election day, is that the government as a whole, and some ministers in particular, were completely laid-back when the allegations were made.

It is true that election time always spawns, not just here in Malta, allegations of sleaze, and it is also true that were an administration to keep investigating any time someone came up with a charge, then no work would get done and we would all succumb to an orgy of investigations and witch-hunts.

But to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to every allegation that is made, to put one’s trust blindly in the people who have been chosen is asking, for trouble.

Take this current Enemalta and fuel procurement affair: the allegations have been there for ages, parliamentary questions (mostly by Leo Brincat) have been asked since 2004, and there have been certain mysterious goings-on, like the sudden removal of key people, etc.

And yet it is only now that the Prime Minister has come round to ask the police to investigate and the public to come forward with whatever information it has.

The rot goes deeper and wider than just these three people and maybe wider than this ministry.

As I said some days ago, some people have been getting too rich too quickly for just their salaries.

How come a young man is reportedly now so rich he has completely changed his lifestyle, has become all of a sudden a big benefactor of his home town football team, and endows his girlfriend with luxury gifts just on the salary of a ministry official?

How come this particular person always seems to be around when a particular entrepreneur is in a spot? How come this entrepreneur suddenly found doors opening when one would have thought there were enough checks and balances to stop this happening?

I do not consider the outgoing administration to be corruption-ridden but certainly this administration has been very guiltily of being lax and laid-back when allegations were made. The net result is that none of the allegations were investigated in time (although some steps may have been taken) and now the allegations have become a huge wave that tars the entire administration, which, as I said, may be incompetent in parts but certainly not ridden by corruption. And even in the face of the current allegations on fuel procurement and in the face of evidence pointing to kick-backs, I still believe the right decisions regarding fuel and energy supply were taken and the country was on its proper way to put this matter on a stable and sustainable basis.

In time the Marsa power station would have been closed, in time the Delimara plant would have been converted to gas and in time Malta would have solved the vexing problem how to get the gas delivered.

But the issue has now moved on from energy provision and it has, predictably, come round to allegations of sleaze and on such a delicate matter where millions can be made and no one is the wiser.

It is one thing to defend the people you have appointed and quite another thing to let everyone do his thing and somehow believe we are all angels and saints. As I said last week, the state has its own investigative officers who should have been set on these allegations months and years ago.

At ground level

I don’t know about you guys, but the election has not yet gripped me. I can see many people around me who go about their daily lives and hobbies and past-times without letting the election disrupt their rhythm.

Many have their own ideas and preferred party but they do not go for the many political meetings, coffee mornings, and what have you.

For all the election frenzy, all I can see is the huge amount of printed matter that pops in the letter box and which I promptly bin.

To tell the truth, we have not been harried by home visiting candidates and I have yet to see any approach not just our house but even our street.

The parties brag they have databases on everyone and one can see that on election day when there will be those intrusive phone calls asking if you have gone to vote. But I still don’t know how I am described on these databases and I still do not see how they can brand each and every individual except in a very general way because of family affiliations – which may be completely wrong.

I read about the polls and whatever the final percentage they come up with and the widening chasm between Labour and PN, there is still, even so near election day, a huge amount of people who do not reveal their voting tendencies or intentions and maybe too some people have given the interviewers the replies they felt the interviewer wanted, or what other people are saying, but when the day comes they will go and do their thing.

All in all, looking at other countries, we do not get the terrible mess the Italian electorate has found itself in, nor the dramatic overtones of the last Greek election on the edge of a volcano.

This time, we have seen a virulence in comments on blogs and social media that I never remember from past elections and people who as much as make a tiny innocuous comment get their heads chewed off – which is why people have stopped commenting or crossing swords.

As for those who do comment, they are in too far to even bother.

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