"I like him a lot, I like him too much," President Donald Trump commented. He was referring to Mohamad Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, the man the CIA blame for ordering the barbaric butchering of the Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khasoggi. Mohamad Bin Salman is also accused of war crimes in Yemen which he transformed into a battered killing field with tens of thousands dead, cholera sweeping the country and 80 per cent of the population dependent on humanitarian aid. He's imprisoned female activists and subjected them to cruel and inhumane treatment, including sleep deprivation, assault, threats to life and solitary confinement. But what does Trump care?
Trump is only interested in money. It is telling that his first official overseas trip, apart from attending the Pope's funeral, was to a repressive autocratic country which deals with critical journalists in the same way Malta did, but which drips with oil and riches. For Trump, Saudi Arabia is the country of his dreams. He must envy the crown prince, the unassailable monarch, impatient, feared and all powerful. Trump has much in common with Bin Salman, not least his interior decorator judging by the gaudy gold and marble on display at the Saudi palaces, reminiscent of Trump's Mar-a-Lago.
Bin Salman's barbarism is of no consequence to Trump. Saudi Arabia's ruthless oppression of its own people doesn't matter, because Saudi Arabia has the money and it's pledged to invest 600 billion in the USA. 142 billion will be spent on American defence equipment - weapons and ammunition - ensuring that Saudi Arabia's next military adventure will be even more destructive than its last.
Bin Salman played Trump's favourite campaign anthem, YMCA, while hosting the US President. Does he know it's a gay anthem? In Saudi Arabia you risk getting decapitated or even stoned to death for acts of homosexuality. But if they've got the money, Donald Trump's their friend which is why he bestowed Saudi Arabia the honour of being his first foreign destination as President.
The real reason Trump chose Saudi Arabia is not because America might benefit from their riches. It's because he will. The Trump organisation has planned real estate projects in Saudi Arabia and an investment firm belonging to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, received 2 billion dollars from a fund tied to the Saudi government.
Trump has accepted a 400 million dollar gift from the Qatari royal family which he also visited on his Middle East trip. He has a big golf course development in Qatar. Trump doesn't care that Qatar has been funding the terrorist organisation Hamas to which it transferred over 1.8 billion dollars. Trump stood by the Emir commenting "this is an outstanding man". He added that he'd be a fool not to accept the Emir's gift of a "flying palace". "These guys are going to get some big cheques," Trump told the media in reference to his billionaire friends who accompanied him on his "business" trip to the Middle East.
Many, even within his own party, were appalled that a US President could possibly accept such a lavish gift from the Qataris to be used as the President's Air Force One. Many more were disgusted at Trump cosying up to the likes of Mohamed Bin Salman and Emir bin Hamad el Thani. Trump has viciously insulted and antagonised America's European allies yet treats such ruthless despots as his best friends. Trump doesn't care what savagery Bin Salman has been up to as long as he gets to profit out of the deal.
That nakedly transactional approach is remarkably similar to that of a certain Robert Abela. He couldn't care less where Chris Borg's money came from as long as he made 45,000 euro out of the dodgy deal with the man accused of money laundering and kidnapping. "That's the responsibility of the notary," Abela told journalists.
More recently Abela has been doggedly defending his get-rich-quick scheme of passport sales and attacking the European court that ruled his scheme illegal. Abela doesn't care how he gets the money. He's not remotely interested in national and European security. If he can make hundreds of millions out of selling our citizenship, nothing's going to stop him. He vented his fury on his usual scapegoats - "I didn't expect any different from PN MEPs and others, such as Roberta Metsola and David Casa, who campaigned vigorously for this (court) decision and against Malta and its entire population".
Abela justified his illegal scheme by claiming that "many associations and individuals, amongst them persons suffering from cancer and terminal illness" benefitted. "To see the President of the European Parliament coming out to celebrate the sentence and to say 'I was right"....excuse me but you should be helping our country find solutions...there are some who love the national interest and others who don't," Abela scoffed.
Ironically Abela went on to announce that he had reinstated Ronald Mizzi as Permanent secretary within the Office of Prime Minister, despite the fact that Mizzi is facing prosecution for serious crimes relating to the hospitals concession. In the process Robert Abela denounced the magisterial inquiry findings, casting doubt on the process and prejudging the case by publicly announcing that he is "totally convinced" that Ronald Mizzi is innocent. "He still has so much to contribute to the country," the Prime Minister added.
Robert Abela is intentionally undermining the judicial process for one reason - to protect his friend Joseph Muscat. By discrediting the case for the prosecution, by publicly announcing the innocence of the accused, Abela seeks to torpedo the case. In so doing Abela seeks to ingratiate himself with Muscat's many loyal supporters amongst whom are some very wealthy moguls with very dodgy friends. Abela wants to keep them on side, to show them that he is with them too.
Like Donald Trump, Robert Abela couldn't be bothered with propriety and decency. No matter how obscenely you've behaved, he's ready to overlook anything you've done as long as there's something in it for him. It needn't be a 400 million dollar jumbo jet, even a mere 45,000 euro will do fine.