Before the general election, the Labour Party promised it would work hard to curb, possibly eradicate, corruption. Right on cue, the oil procurement scandal erupted in parallel with the election campaign, giving the PL one final push towards its historic victory. Labour used it to speak harshly against all forms of dishonesty, pledged to remove the statute of limitations for politicians involved in corrupt practices and introduce the Whistleblower Act, and made it a point to appear hell-bent on attacking this scourge.
What it did on the above points after the election is welcome but, as has happened on the justice reform – about which I wrote last week to highlight the inconsistencies of a government that aims to reorganise the system but then, at the same time, procrastinates on the impeachment of a judge, something that was again evident this past week with the delaying tactics employed in the House Business Committee – it is sending conflicting messages.
The smart meter tampering scandal is exposing the government as being unwilling to file criminal charges against those involved. Labour is choosing to play judge and jury – and opting to forgive the 1,000 or so offenders, perhaps fearing some kind of political backlash. By doing so, it is sending signals that people can get away with corruption offences.
What Labour does not realise is that there are many more thousands of other consumers who pay their energy bills to the last cent and who are justifiably irked by the stand the government is taking. It is not fair that the culprits are not even getting a slap on the wrist for their wrongdoing. The government cannot be believed when it says that it wants to wipe out corruption when, in the first real opportunity to show it meant business, it has faltered so badly.
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The Nationalist Party is not free of its own contradictions.
In the past few days, it boasted of what is after all a hollow victory – the Labour Party had claimed, before the election, that the Delimara power station was a “cancer factory”, but a recent report shows that the quality of air at Marsaxlokk and the surrounding area has not been negatively affected. While it is good to note that this is so, what was lost by the PN in those crucial weeks cannot now be regained.
But the PN is now doing the same thing on the proposals for a floating gas storage tanker in Marsaxlokk Bay.
Just as much as Labour instilled fear among the people living in the south of Malta with their “cancer factory” claims which have now been shot down, the PN is trying to do the same with its comparisons between gas tankers and “atomic bombs”.
The connection between gas tankers and atomic bombs does not hold water, as a report published by this newspaper’s sister daily last Thursday showed.
But perhaps the PN is trying to take a leaf out of Labour’s book, seeing that the latter’s strategy worked so well this time last year.
To be fair, it was during a press conference given by MEP hopeful Therese Comodini Cachia that this atomic bomb connection was put forward by a PN Birzebbuga local councillor, engineer Stanley Zammit. But the fact that leader Simon Busuttil visited Birzebbuga a few days later and was shown around by the same engineer was a kind of endorsement of the theory by the party.
Another MEP hopeful, Stefano Mallia, was contradicted by the European Commission on claims that the EU could ask Malta for a refund of the money allocated for the Malta-Sicily interconnector because of restricted use. In his case, Dr Mallia was man enough to accept the EC’s explanation.
But, on the atomic bomb connection, the PN’s scaremongering continued even after it had been disproved.
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In the first part of this article, I referred to the statute of limitations.
This is just one legal technicality that has often enabled offenders to escape punishment for wrongdoing, whatever it may have been.
But the law provides other ways for people who are accused of something or other to create as many obstacles as possible to delay and potentially even derail the course of justice.
The law is always in favour of the accused. The concept that one is innocent until proven guilty amply provides for this. But it is clear that the more time passes, the more we speak of rights of the accused and completely ignore the effects on society which expects justice to be meted out, but often ends up with the short stick.
I guess it must be a strange feeling to know that you are guilty and yet you try your hardest to resort to all imaginable legal means to find a way out.
But then I guess that some people do not know what honour is all about.
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The Prime Minister has every right like everybody else to go and watch a football match abroad.
What is questionable is his doing so on a day when he was supposed to be attending a jury he himself initiated against the Opposition leader on what the Prime Minister claims to be a breach of privilege.
It is quite irresponsible and an act of arrogance on his part, and a sign of disrespect towards Parliament.
Added to this, the fact that Dr Muscat’s trip to Italy was not made public until the Nationalist Party media got wind of it makes it clear that the government wanted to keep it under wraps. And, usually, when an effort is made to keep something secret, it’s not something to be proud of.
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This past week I watched a documentary of the role Malta played during the Libyan uprising three years ago.
It reminded me of the international acclaim Malta – and Malta’s Prime Minister of the time, Lawrence Gonzi – had received in the way we handled the crisis. Malta’s reputation rose several notches in the eyes of the world in those eventful weeks.
And now this present government has thrown it all away by selling passports.
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