Joseph, to be or not to be?

It will be a sad moment for Malta if Joseph Muscat is accepted as a PL candidate for the European elections. Joseph Muscat’s legacy is tainted and problematic on various levels.

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“To be or not to be”, from Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet is one of the best-known quotes from all the Shakespearean works combined.

In today’s parlance, it underlines one’s hesitation to undertake something.

Recently, Joseph Muscat was encouraged by some to make a political comeback. Would he be a candidate in the European elections or not, many queried.

The same question was asked to Robert Abela. The prime minister’s reply was “why should I say no to him”? The obvious reply to Abela’s question is “because it is not good for the country”.

Although I have no qualms acknowledging some achievements during Muscat’s tenure in office, a number of episodes without doubt overshadow such achievements. His legacy is tainted and problematic on various levels.

Never has any post-independence prime minister been forced to resign in disgrace and been given the title ‘Person of the Year in Organised Crime and Corruption’ by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a global network of investigative journalists.

Ironically, while Roberta Metsola, his political nemesis, was elected president of the European Parliament in January 2022 with a huge majority – including the support of the Socialists and Liberals, in December 2019, 581 MEPs, including the Socialists, except the Maltese Labour MEPs, voted for a resolution demanding Muscat’s resignation as prime minister.

At the end of Muscat’s time in office The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Index had certified Malta as a ‘flawed democracy’.

On Muscat’s watch, not only were the Panama Papers, Pilatus Bank and 17 Black beneficiaries exposed but he failed to act, giving rise to valid questioning that he might have been in cahoots or, possibly, compromised enough not to be able to take any action.

On his watch, blatant shady and sleazy dealings took place. Episodes of scandals became the norm rather than the exception. Their instigators, including politicians close to him, found protection. Key institutions such as the police and the Office of the Attorney General were captured by the Labour Party and did not function properly.

On the other hand, mega projects, such as Electrogas and Vitals/Steward, were embroiled in serious corruption allegations. Regarding the Vitals/Steward debacle, the court was clear: “No person having the country’s good at heart would ever enter such a deal if not taken in by fraud.” This fraudulent plan cost taxpayers €400 million.

Muscat’s electoral solemn promise that the environment would be a priority turned out to be a gimmick. Our environment is anything but a priority for the present government. Thanks to a number of fat cats with whom Muscat had/has a close affinity, Malta is now one dirty construction site. The current construction blitz has transformed many of our townscapes and streetscapes into soulless localities.

Muscat’s fervent adherents might strongly disagree with my appraisal, pointing to strong economic growth when he was in office. However, I dare ask, at what price? Although Muscat’s shortsighted economic model has allowed some to make hay while the sun shines, all this overdevelopment and a huge increase in the population is leading the country to the brink.

One cannot fail also to highlight that anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was not only brutally assassinated during Muscat’s tenure but some people, allegedly involved, were allegedly close to him. His initial refusal to set up a public inquiry into Daphne’s death and the failing of the current government to implement the recommendations of that inquiry more than six years after that horrendous day speak volumes.

My greatest disappointment is that not only did he promote champagne socialism but he had the opportunity to bring about a new radical political mindset and culture and he threw it away.

With his historic parliamentary majority, he had a golden chance to bring about positive change for Malta to enable it to take a quantum leap and truly become a European country. While he slyly campaigned assertively as the enabler of a European Malta, promising meritocracy, transparency, accountability, good governance and zero tolerance to corruption, he not only reneged on his own pledges but also proved himself to be the champion of the selfish, the greedy and the corrupt.

Muscat might be an asset to Labour’s short-term gains but, sadly, he is a hindrance to honest Malta and the values that the EU stands for.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”.

(This article was published on Times of Malta – 1 March, 2024)