At Donald Trump's inaugural prayer service Bishop Mariann Budde appealed to the President to be merciful to minorities, "who fear for their lives".  "In the name of God," she implored, "have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now".

Instead of mercy, Trump retaliated with vicious brutality, calling her a "radical left hardline Trump hater".  "She was nasty," he added. Trump's supporters took the cue targeting the bishop with violent speech and death threats. A Republican congressman, Mike Collins, even called for the bishop's deportation.

Robert Abela has been using the same tactics.  He has relentlessly targeted his critics, Arnold Cassola and Jason Azzopardi.  He has attacked journalists and reporters accusing them of being part of the establishment. He's personally attacked magistrates accusing one of "political terrorism".  He's mocked civil society organisations. And like Trump's MAGA fans, Robert Abela's "Laburisti sal-mewt" have taken their leader's cue and been doing his dirty work for him.

Fanning Abela's flames is his mighty media machine.  At the Leader's direction, ONE sinks its teeth into their favourite targets - Karol Aquilina, Robert Aquilina, Roberta Metsola, Jason Azzopardi, Arnold Cassola - and won't let go.  ONE's tactics have been refined over long years.  Their effectiveness is evident from the level of vulgarity, hostility, and violent aggression in the hundreds of vicious comments uploaded onto ONE's social media pages. Labour's incitement of the mob is part of a well-oiled strategy intended to silence critics or at least intimidate them. ONE could easily moderate its comments board. It could at least filter out the most violent, abusive and the threatening comments.  It chooses not to.

Labour's use of language is important.  It calls its adversaries traitors, extremists, enemies of the State, haters of their own country, the establishment, factionalists, terrorists.  The Prime Minister himself accused a magistrate of "political terrorism". Of course, the magistrate is no terrorist.  Neither are Abela's adversaries extremists or enemies of the State.  Those labels are only meant to dehumanise Labour's "enemies", paving the way for their subsequent persecution without public protest or objection.

Labour's strategy involves deterring the press and critics from challenging their perversion of language.  By targeting journalists and reporters, by publicly attacking critics and columnists, Labour strikes fear into aspiring objectors.  The relentless harassment of those who speak up is a warning for others.  The message is clear - it's not worth it, keep your head down, don't get involved, think of your family.   When the Times of Malta published incriminating details about James Piscopo, Robert Abela accused the newspaper of being part of a "strategy" to target Piscopo simply because he was helping Labour.

Labour has developed a malignant tool of incitement which fuels intimidation and harassment of critics. Labour even targets family members of perceived enemies.  The father and brother of a magistrate were targeted. Not even children of Labour's critics are spared. Nothing is off limits for Labour.

Abela isn't just counting on fear.  He's also busy depriving citizens of their rights, weakening their ability to seek justice.  He's applying the leader principle - what the Germans called the Fuhrerprinzip.  He believes he has a "personal mandate" from the people to do as he pleases.  That was evident in his recent magisterial inquiries reform.  Everybody objected to those reforms but Abela ploughed on, ignoring all protest. Abela even threatened to deprive citizens of their rights to lodge complaints with the Standards Commissioner.

Abela's shown he's ready to change the law when it suits him. The magisterial inquiries reform not only deprives citizens of their rights but also grants him immunity, effectively providing himself and his ministers a pre-emptive pardon. He's shown his utter contempt towards all the dissenting voices and mocked those few brave souls who mounted some protest, ridiculing their pots and pans.

Abela decides which rights to grant and which to withhold. And if citizens dare exercise the little rights they have in ways he considers abusive, he'll take those rights away too. He even decides who "deserves" those rights and who doesn't.

But Abela has gone a step further. He's now defying the courts. The Capitanerie restaurant at Ta' Xbiex has been declared illegal by the Appeals court.  Yet no enforcement notice has been issued for its demolition.  The court's judgement has been ignored and the rule of law subverted.  Abela has shown the courts are completely powerless and that its judgements don't matter.

If the people accept Abela's Furherprinzip and disregard for the law, they accept that they too may be treated exceptionally.  They too may face trumped up charges or hefty fines as Jason Azzopardi has.  They may be summarily dragged before the courts, as Mark Camilleri was, simply because Rosianne Cutajar demanded it.  They too may find their face plastered on ONE.  They too may bear the brunt of those violently hostile comments on ONE's facebook page.

Meanwhile those who ought to face investigation and prosecution - Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, Cheng Chen, Armin Ernst, Ralph de la Torre, former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, former Economics Crime Unit chief Ian Abdilla, Rosianne Cutajar, Justyne Caruana, Minister Anton Refalo - aren't even called for questioning. And those like Joseph Muscat and Konrad Mizzi who have been charged can rely on Labour's relentless attacks on the magistrate and the courts' experts and ONE's concerted efforts to undermine the judicial process.

How we react to all this determines our future. Closing our eyes to Labour's despicable abuse simply because we're not the ones being targeted is a guarantee that Labour's oppressive tactics will only escalate. Our only hope is that enough of us see this for what it is - an incipient state of terror - and find the courage to stand up to an abusive ruling party that seeks to silence critics through fear.

Yale Professor and historian Timothy Snyder and his wife, fellow Yale academic Marci Shone, have decided to move to Canada from the United States.  So has Professor Jason Stanley, another historian.  All three were targeted with death threats simply because they articulated their academic views that Trump's America was sliding inexorably towards authoritarianism. Marci Shone learned the lessons of 1933 - "better to get out sooner rather than later".  All three fled for their own safety and that of their families. That's exactly what Trump wants.

In the face of persecution and harassment there is a moral imperative to stay, to fight back and to resist. If everybody fled to safety, the country's last glimmer of hope would be extinguished.  That would be handing victory to a ruthless authoritarian force and betraying the country.