Let us rewind back again to that day on March 6, 2016 when Simon Busuttil, then leader of the Nationalist Party, during the protest meeting called to address the public on the matter of corruption surrounding Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, logically concluded that the way the evidence presented, the likelihood of corruption was quite obvious.
Full circle and after suing Simon for libel, Keith Schembri and before him Konrad Mizzi are not able to withstand the rigours of questioning under oath, and bail.
We return, therefore, to the point in time when Simon was leader and the other two champions of Joseph Muscat, were denying the accusations. The tragedy is that in the interim, Simon was vilified, lost an election and resigned, Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated and Malta’s reputation has sunk to the bottom of the Gozo channel, ready to be tunneled into a pile of debris. So, the matter still stands, that Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi are deemed crooked and the question of why Joseph Muscat does not deal with this irreconcilable issue, remains hidden with the rest of the sordid story and other bad deals.
Simon Busuttil and the team around him, have persevered against all odds, have given their energy, their belief in justice and their expertise to insist on hearing the truth. Others around him had better things to do it seems, than admire him and align themselves with this project. Seats on the opposition benches remained empty. That is unsustainable. Either Dr Louis Galea sees it or all that he is doing is lost in translation. How long is this pick and choose going to persist?
In his speech in Parliament, Simon said that many are angry, including those Labourites who disassociate themselves from the corruption. In truth, people are not just angry, they are fed-up. The position of Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi and we may also soon see Chris Cardona and Edward Scicluna joining the rank, has stagnated not just the country politically but contaminated the very air we breathe. We simply cannot stifle it anymore. Nowhere, in the civilized and less civilized world do things work this way. Here, those who have a long shadow of impropriety over them, not only try to pervert the course of justice but remain in office, disrespecting not only their position as politicians but the very same people they are meant to be in service of.
Joseph Muscat and his cohort may think they are the avant-garde, the modernists who are ready to take Malta into the next century and out of the dark ages, by defying the old and cutting ranks with good order and accountability. Just because they talk of crypto-currencies and cannabis, just because they are LGBTQ buddies and look like a cartoon character in November to support Breast cancer, really means nothing at all.
They front a good economy as their flag of convenience. Who is benefitting from this amazing economy? It has divided a nation. It has torn down neighbourhoods and left people ashamed to admit that they are struggling, lest they be thought to be lacking in their capability or that they are lazy or that their situation will be made even worse by enemies.
In truth, each and everyone of us now is carrying the burden of corruption surrounding the many deals made by this government with anyone who was willing to be compromised at any price. Nothing, nothing at all in the organization of the economy resulting from these deals and practices has given security and confidence to the people of Malta and Gozo. We live in a permanent state of low anxiety, for the next diversion and the continued presence of crooked persons in Castille. We are not free, we are not normal. This situation is not normal.
Now that we are back to Simon Busuttil and the law, how does it go on from here? Will Adrian Delia continue to deny his existence? Can the Prime Minister chuck his mates and stand on his own two feet? He called an early election once, probably the next one is on the cards. Circumstances are similar. The PN had better be ready because they certainly are a long way from that as they stand now.
An election is there for an opposition to win. The people are fed-up, angry and looking for a leader they can trust. The truth that was revealed in court with Keith Schembri’s defection, means that both Simon and Daphne were right and the issue of corruption is not going away. Fine, business is important and any potential leader will be aware of that now. But business is not the only function of a government, in fact it should only have the role of providing the right legislation for business to prosper. There are many other areas that need good governance and the right policies. Business may be the gluten acting as a glue in bread but it is not the only ingredient keeping the government in power. People need to know that and let go of the notion that if there is a democratic government and less partisanship than all the deals supporting the IIP Malta, building or tourism industries would topple and spell disaster. On the contrary, a new sense of security can be built, where everyone has a right to share in the economy and create a business for themselves where they can compete fairly and not have their investments wrecked or unfairly poached.
The climate emergency is constantly before us now and can no longer be avoided. Who is best equipped to handle this huge challenge? At present, Malta is one of the worst polluters, has ambiguous policies to fight it and cannot even manage to sort out the recycle waste from the mixed waste. The Maghtab plant stinks again and Wasteserve is serving no one. At the moment all Malta relies on is quarries. Quarries for stone, quarries for illegal equipment, quarries for rubbish and dumping, whilst the contractors drive around looking for a hole. The sum total of Labour is holes, high-ups and cranes. But of course, to be in line with Dubai, we will have land reclamation.
Change must happen soon.