"I don't care about corruption, I only care about my pocket", a Labour voter argued when faced with another sleazy scandal. Well, if it's his pocket he's interested in, corruption should be his greatest concern. At least that's what this year's Nobel prize winners in Economics discovered.
Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson received the most prestigious award in the world for their decades-long search for the answer to a fundamental question - why do nations fail? Why are rich countries like Venezuela driven into poverty?
Their answer is astonishingly simple. It's not the absence of oil or natural resources, not geographic position or small population size that impoverishes a people. It's corruption. It's weak, rotten institutions. It's abusive governments, crooked police forces, scandal-ridden authorities run by dishonest or incompetent party loyalists.
According to the Nobel laureates corruption is the surest road to poverty. For those naive voters whose pocket is their top priority, just one small piece of advice - fear corruption. Without corruption, you'll prosper, your country will grow, your children will stay. With corrupt institutions, dominated and exploited by an unscrupulous government, expect hard times. Watch in despair as your money becomes worthless - where even the most basic property becomes unaffordable for the majority, where the best jobs are reserved for Labour's elite, where your hard earned degrees and diplomas are thrashed, and where the price of groceries rises far faster than your income.
Acemoglu and colleagues showed that in countries with strong institutions a student can confidently spend years training for an engineering degree because the country's institutions ensure that the University is reputable.
But Malta's regulator for accreditation of higher educational institutions, the MFHEA, was refused membership of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education. It was rejected by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher education. That's no surprise.
That engineering graduate would find it difficult to make a living in a country where contracts only go to those with connections to Labour. It would be difficult for that graduate to survive when his Labour-backed competitors are allowed to cut corners and costs by corrupt regulatory authorities. There would be absolutely no incentive to invest time and energy to get qualified. Listen to Labour's Clayton Bartolo - "it's not all about diplomas and degrees".
Even something as simple as issuing driving licences based on reasonable and fairly-tested standards is beyond Labour. In Labour's Malta a call from the Minister is enough to get you that driving licence or an expedited driving test - while the rest wait forever. Insurance agencies have no confidence that people they're insuring are safe. You can't even believe disability benefits claimants are disabled. You're not even sure that a person is who his ID card says he is.
Those Nobel Laureates concluded no country remains rich without strong, fair institutions, without honest leaders. Appointing incompetent, unqualified, dishonest loyalists to positions of power, to run institutions and government entities destroys a nation. In a globalised world, highly qualified citizens simply move to rich countries where talent and hard work is rewarded fairly - and get paid better. That drives the brain drain which impoverishes the country.
Labour knows this. That's why it's corroded all the institutions to weaponise them for exploitation of national wealth. By eroding those institutions Labour can break the rules without protest. Labour seeks economic exploitation rather than productive development. Instead of value creation Labour engages in value extraction. It can borrow as much as it needs to sustain itself and its power.
As soon as Labour took power, Joseph Muscat kicked out practically all permanent secretaries, experienced and knowledgeable civil servants of integrity, to replace them with people like Frank Fabri who covered up for Justyne Caruana's abuse. Or Ronald Mizzi who helped Konrad Mizzi carry out the Vitals heist and now stands charged over his involvement. Since then it's been inexorably downhill.
Labour degraded the institutions for their own benefit. They appoint incompetent dishonest lackeys to run institutions to favour themselves and their friends and party funders.
Ian Borg gets to keep his illegal pool. Anton Refalo has a Victorian era artefact and escapes prosecution. Silvio Schembri wasn't even interrogated over his links with developers who benefitted from his government's largesse and who provided him with district offices. Clint Camilleri doesn't even apologise for defrauding the nation. Rosianne Cutajar was never prosecuted over her phantom job. Neither has she returned the money she took. Pierre Fenech, "tal-ITS", who gave her that job still gets to keep his.
Frank Fabri was rewarded with two lucrative government posts. Joseph Cuschieri is leading Project Green despite his abuse at the MFSA. His daughter is Miriam Dalli's consultant despite being only in her 20s. She's also business development manager at Infrastructure Malta and sits on Clearflow PLC's board. Justyne Caruana still collected tens of thousands in termination benefits despite her flagrant abuse. Joseph Muscat still uses government offices at Sa Maison, his wife still gets her car funded by the state and they still keep their diplomatic passport.
Joseph Portelli gets his illegal properties sanctioned. Huge tracts of public land are handed out to friendly developers. Permits, illegal direct contracts, massive tenders are awarded to Labour's friends despite public outrage. Labour is even building a restaurant for Robert Abela's friends.
Labour has a vested interest in destroying the institutions. They know it's their best chance of retaining power. Labour depends on castrated institutions to buy voters using public money, public land, public service posts, running up billions in national debt. Without those enticements who'd dream of voting Labour again?
Fairer institutions spell Labour's downfall. If we had a half-decent AG or police commissioner half Labour's cabinet would be investigated and prosecuted. Labour won't strengthen the institutions - that's suicidal.
What those Nobel Laureates also discovered is that the best way to transition from a crumbling state with corrupt institutions to a thriving one with strong institutions is through peaceful transfer of power rather than revolution. What's reassuring is that bad leaders always fall. The only difference is that in democracies they're ousted quietly at the ballot box. In dictatorships they're forced out violently. Just ask Mussolini, Ceaucescu or Gaddafi.