Prime Minister Robert Abela has been found to have used groundless accusations for political gain, tarnishing the reputation of his opponents without the backing of evidence. The recent decision by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life to dismiss allegations against three Nationalist Party MPs - Toni Bezzina, Robert Cutajar, and Ivan Castillo - should have prompted a moment of humility and accountability. Instead, it has been met with silence.

Abela singled out Bezzina in particular. The Prime Minister had accused the Nationalist MP of receiving a €51,000 salary without rendering any service, branding him as absent from his workplace at the Public Works Department.

However, the Standards Commissioner, acting on a complaint filed by former Labour official Neville Gafà, found no breach of ethics, no evidence of wrongdoing, and ultimately dismissed the complaint. In Bezzina's case, the Commissioner clearly stated that neither Abela nor Gafà provided any substantiating proof. The complaints against Cutajar and Castillo were similarly deemed so baseless that the commissioner did not pursue them further.

This episode illustrates a disturbing pattern in Abela's leadership: the ease with which he casts aspersions on political opponents without first verifying the facts. What is more troubling is his refusal to take responsibility when these allegations collapse under scrutiny. The Nationalist Party has rightfully called on Abela to issue a public apology to Toni Bezzina, but no such apology has been forthcoming. Instead, Abela appears content to let the smear linger, even in the face of clear findings to the contrary.

This is not an isolated case. Abela's track record shows a consistent refusal to apologise, even when found in the wrong. On two previous occasions, he failed to issue an apology following breaches of ethics identified by the Standards Commissioner. This points not to a mere lapse in judgment, but to a broader culture of impunity and political expedience - a tendency to deflect, distract, and discredit rather than engage with accountability.

The timing of the accusations against the three PN MPs adds yet another layer to the controversy. The complaints were filed in November last year, conspicuously coinciding with an internal crisis that had rocked Abela's own government. During that week, he was facing a scandal involving two of his ministers and a job given to the girlfriend of one of them, which later led to the resignation of Clayton Bartolo.

Rather than confront wrongdoing within his own ranks, Abela appears more comfortable shifting the spotlight onto others. His attempt to publicly discredit Nationalist MPs while his own ministers were under investigation speaks volumes. It is a political manoeuvre as cynical as it is transparent - one that risks further eroding public trust in institutions already strained by scandal fatigue.

At the very least, Prime Minister Abela owes Toni Bezzina - and the Maltese public - an apology. Not only for the baseless accusations, but for the misuse of his office to propagate them. True leadership is measured not by deflection and denial, but by accountability and the courage to admit when one is wrong. Until Robert Abela learns that lesson, his credibility will remain permanently stained by the very tactics he so readily deploys against others.