We seem to be living under a perpetual cloud, metereologically and actually, which we cannot succeed in shaking off.
What started off as the Panama Papers crisis, which is still developing as I am writing, has enveloped the entire country in a cloud of despondency and uncertainty. There was, to be sure, uncertainty about what the prime minister intended to do about it (and he certainly took his time about it, dangling all sorts of outcomes in our imagination, only then to fall for the feeblest of reactions, which engendered even more uncertainty), then uncertainty about what the world would say and what consequences would Konrad Mizzi’s mistake have at EU level.
Then, all of a sudden, the whole financial services sector cracked open like a ripe tomato.
I may not be chronological here.
We had the Nemea Bank (most of us had not even heard its name) facing problems and being chastised by the MFSA. We, the public at large, still do not know the real situation, although we have been fed tantalizing details about the composition of its board (including former PM Gonzi), and a later announcement restricting the amount clients were allowed to withdraw.
Last Sunday, this paper came out with serious allegations regarding Bank of Valletta, for which it was roundly criticized by Minister Edward Scicluna in Parliament on Tuesday and defended by MP Kristy Debono who had earlier made similar but different allegations about the bank. This case, as I write, is still ongoing, so this is all I will say.
For the past weeks, Minister Evarist Bartolo has been openly critical of MFSA head Joe Bannister, for which Minister Bartolo was criticized by fellow MPs in the House. Nevertheless, Mr Bartolo returned to the attack in the past days. He has now been joined by an anonymous Facebook account.
The cloud, in other words, has not just stayed on top of us but it has grown denser. The people used to look upon the financial services sector as a growing sector, as one of the mainstays of Malta’s economic growth. Now they don’t know what to think.
Certainly, with a prime minister loath to do what everyone expected him to do with regards to Konrad Mizzi, the rest of officialdom followed suit. It says a lot for the weakness in our institutions that the police, the Attorney General himself, the FIAU, do not seem to have taken any initiative to investigate in the Konrad Mizzi case, as they certainly would if it were you or me to open a foreign account which we did not register in Malta.
It is also clear that two other events over the past days have nothing to do with this generalized malaise.
The Cabinet reshuffle was not occasioned by Konrad Mizzi losing his two ministries and still remaining a minister. Keith Fearne as Minister for Health continues (and belatedly) to do what he was doing before. The energy ministry has been taken on by the prime minister.
Other than that, the rest of the musical chairs was occasioned by Leo Brincat moving hopefully to the European Court of Auditors and also to accommodate Manuel Mallia around the Cabinet table.
The other development – the election for the post of Labour Deputy leader – was indeed occasioned by Konrad Mizzi voluntarily letting this post go after just a few weeks in office. But in total contrast to the complete acquiescence in Joseph Muscat’s decision to get Konrad Mizzi appointed (even though Panama Papers broke a day or two before the vote) this time round it looks like we will be getting a real contest. One could actually tell who will be competing from the (mostly outrageous) comments some were making – but that is politics for you. Happens every time, happens everywhere. Maroni in Italy, for instance, drags out Malta and beats us up every time an election is due.
Will the Cabinet reshuffle get us out of the cloud? Hardly. One must let them find their feet. Will the deputy leader contest get us out of the cloud? Hardly, it will be all noise and excitement, but will not affect us or the cloud over us.
The metereological cloud will be blown away by a fresh wind from the West, which is coming in the next few days, we are told. But for the other cloud to move away there are no readymade solutions, not when the head of government is so adamant not to do what is expected of him. As we saw last Wednesday, he has started having some anger management issues around it.
As Rachel Borg pointed out yesterday, he has even sacrificed his beloved Moviment to it, and the Labour core, long suppressed, has surged up and ahead as it did on Sunday. It is back to the Old Days, back to the 1980s. We thought Alfred Sant had slain that particular dragon but it had just been faking death all this time.
The Moviment was created to give Labour the edge which it could never get with just its core following. The result went beyond expectations, also because of the most inept administration for years. Now, punch-drunk with the greatest majority in Maltese history, some may be thinking they can do without the Moviment. That is why some contenders for the Deputy Leader post are emphasizing they come from long years of militancy in the party – core, in other terms, not Moviment.
This cloud may self-implode. On the other hand, it may do nothing of the sort.
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