Some people, even PN bigwigs, believe that the more we speak of corruption, the worse it is. They fear being negative. That mentioning the horrors of the ones in power will scare people, the common people, the voters, away.
Do opposition members reason that way as a form of insurance, some future investment? So that if they are ever in government they might want to take a cut, partake in the spoils of illgotten gains?
Whatver reason it is the reality should be talked about, and repeated ad nauseam. And the reality right now is that corruption, sleaze and bad governance are the order of the day.
It's worth repeating - if need be till some who haven't yet realised do realise - that Robert Abela as Prime Minister of Malta is letting the country down, and letting the country slide further down in democratic standards.
Robert Abela took over from Joseph Muscat, also from the Labour Party ranks, who resigned amidst a tsunami of scandals, coverups, and some of the dirtiest episodes in Malta's political history. But when Abela took over from Muscat, far from promising a break from the past, he assured us that we were in for a continuation of it. These last five years of his premiership have been not only that but an emphatic move to consolidate anything Joseph Muscat did and represented.
Muscat was elected way back in 2013 on the premise that he was to deliver a new beginning, a break with the past, a new era - to sweep away the old ways and come out with the new. The new that was promised was full of wondrous stuff; we were to be the best in the world. Muscat delivered: we became the best at doing the worst imaginable.
The floodgates of newness were opened: a new form and level of corruption, of environmental disasters, of immunity for the people in power and their friends, was achieved.
People who ruined the fabric of trust in institutions, in high positions, were not merely allowed to retain their positions but exalted as paragons of good standing.
Robert Abela, instead of changing course, instead of dumping the old ways, expelling from the Labour Party all those who had been involved with Joseph Muscat, stayed calm and collected and remained stuck in the same rut. Instead of making a clean sweep of the old guard, Abela basically glorified all that Joseph Muscat stood for.
In Roman mythology the god Janus has two faces. One looks forward, to the future, the other looks backward, at the past.
In Malta we have two personalities who could, if stuck together, be the local version of Janus. The man stuck in the past, haunted by fear, trying to deny all that needs to be done to clean the country of its corrupt ways is Robert Abela.
The other is Robert Aquilina, the man of the future, the man who believes in our future, the man who is ready to face forward with courage, determination and with a belief in justice.
Robert Abela carries on defending and granting immunity to all the perpetrators and collaborators of the horrors of Joseph Muscat and his gang. Abela looked back and was satisfied; he still looks back and feels that he should be the agent of continuity, of everything that Labour have become.
Against all this is the man who symbolises a new approach. Robert Aquilina is not the leader of the opposition; he is not even directly involved in politics. But he has stood firm and resolute in the face of attacks, misinformation, and slander.
Robert Abela and all his cronies cannot accept the face of change. Robert Aquilina wants true change in attitude, in governance, in dealing with corruption. Aquilina is the future and he wants anyone tarred with anything sinister to be brought to justice.
This new way of looking at our reality has totally disturbed Robert Abela. The latter knows that his predecessor was brought down by Robert Aquilina and the small team he led. Robert Aquilina acting in tandem with Jason Azzopardi fought the battle nobody, or very few, wanted to fight.
Robert Aquilina sounds resolute and hopeful and speaks with determination of things we should all be applauding. He talks of a future with more justice for people like Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in her solitary fight for justice.
Abela labels Aquilina and anyone like The Shift News who work hard at uncovering the horrors of Robert Abela's Labour Party, as enemies. Abela is scared of the truth, of being uncovered as the defender of the people who were out to enrich themselves at any cost from the word go.
Robert Abela shares a first name with Robert Aquilina. They even share the same initials. But that is where the similarity ends. Abela fears justice, Aquilina wants justice at any cost.
If only Malta would realise that Abela is the past and should be discarded while Aquilina is the face of the future.
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