A nurse gets her name splashed all over the media because she is accused of stealing €12 worth of pills from Corradino Prison. But then the government does not want criminal action to be taken against more than 1,000 consumers who stole millions of euros worth of electricity.

It’s ironic, isn’t it?

I am not saying that the nurse in question should have been allowed to get off scot-free. But the police show of force against her contrasts sharply with the decision – which we now know was taken at a political level – not to proceed against people who cheated Enemalta Corporation. Not of €12, but of €30 million.

Consumers who pay their bills to the last cent and who have been doing their best to cut down on their electricity consumption feel betrayed by the government’s action, or lack of it. They have been careful on how long their air-conditioners are switched on for, check the weather sites to wash their clothes on rainless days to avoid using tumble-driers, and started to use energy-saving bulbs – and now they find out that at least 1,000 others found a much better way to reduce their bills by as much as 75% and will be getting away with it.

And I speak of the government because it has now become clear – following the testimony given by a police inspector, under oath, in a court of law last Wednesday – that there was political interference in police work. This meddling also gives further credence to what Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil said about the John Dalli case, and for which he has been accused of a breach of privilege by the Prime Minister.

The government is probably regretting the decision taken not to proceed against the perpetrators involved in the smart meter scandal, but it has now gone too far to go back on its word. Unlike the citizenship scheme, an issue which had the government being forced to change its position four times – and we’re still counting – following the backlash on the international stage, in this case there will be no reversal.

The government says that it listens – and we are having ministers turning up at meetings where there seem to be restrictions on what the public in attendance can say; ask Astrid Vella for more details – but, unless there is pressure from the EU, the government ignores any advice it is given and what the Maltese people are saying.

It is even defying basic legal principles – bribery, as seasoned lawyer Joseph Giglio told the media this week is a type of crime that involves one who offers a bribe and one who takes it, and it does not make sense to charge one and not the other. But the government just ignores the outcry and marches on, as it is also doing with its plans to have a floating gas tanker in Marsaxlokk Bay.

Frankly, with satire making a return to Carnival this year, I expected to see a float with “Joseph Muscat” having Dumbo-like ears in representation of a government that listens, or is supposed to, but I was disappointed. Maybe next time.

So, to go back to serious matters, all the government can do on the smart meter scandal is to try to attack the Opposition, which has steadfastly held that the government should not protect criminals but bring them to book. The way it is doing so however shows that the government has its back to the wall.

First of all, the behaviour in Parliament this week left much to be desired. Having Minister Konrad Mizzi fire accusations in the House and getting sternly reprimanded by the Acting Speaker for the insinuations he made, is a clear indication that the government knows it has lost this political battle and is trying to pin as much blame as possible on the previous administration.

Secondly, bringing up the story of 655 files of electricity theft in Dan Brown style – “discoveries” of “boxes containing files” in a “forgotten room” following a timely tip from a “whistle-blower” could be the basis of the acclaimed author’s next thriller – is a rather feeble attempt to deflect attention from what is happening now, with Dr Mizzi as minister responsible for energy.

What is worrying is that it seems that there is no demarcation line between the government and the police. The two should work independently of each other, and to have a police inspector testify in court that the police did not take action because a political decision was taken is quite disconcerting and, frankly, also reminiscent of what used to take place in the early 1980s.

The credibility of the police force, which was painstakingly re-built in the last two to three decades, is plummeting fast. We had officers employed as waiters last summer, which led to the force being ridiculed and which inspired several jokes. But there is nothing to laugh about with a police force that acts, in some circumstances, at the behest of the government.

[email protected]