The King and the Saviour

Lèse Majestè

As politicians go, Joseph Muscat is not one to hold up as an exemplary figure. He conned us into believing he was an honest-to-goodness young liberal – albeit with sound values -  with a refreshingly modern, mould-breaking outlook on how to run the affairs of the nation. In truth his admirers – whose name is legion – can point to a considerable number of accomplishments few could be dishonest enough to deny. However, even some of these were achieved at a high cost, be it to the environment, to truth, to good governance, to the good name of the country and to social cohesion.

Under his watch, while for many the tenor of material life improved, the community as a whole sank into a moral morass which is threatening to suffocate our nation’s spirit.

He railed against the scandals of the Gonzi administration, and although there is no proof he actually benefitted from shady deals himself, became an arch-abettor of corruption involving his closest cronies. He portrayed himself as something of an environmentalist and destroyed a good chunk of the little his predecessors had left in open spaces, greenery and urban beauty for the benefit of the construction industry. One could go on.

All in all, you might almost be tempted to call this slick salesman of snake-oil a rather nasty piece of work. But a murderer - or even an enabler of murder - he is not.

I do not believe what Mr. Fenech told the police on his arrest, which was duly and dutifully relayed during testimony in court a few days ago. While the man accused of masterminding Daphne Caruana Galizia’s heinous killing maintained Muscat had spoken to him about the murder during the infamous Girgenti birthday bash, a text message sent by Fenech to Muscat shows there was no communication between them on that day. Fenech was almost certainly trying to muddy the waters and diffuse guilt. Then there was that remark of Fenech’s (caught on tape) that it would be madness to approach ix-Xiħ for help with staving off investigations...

Would Muscat have pardoned Theuma if he had anything to do with the murder? Keith Schembri was petrified a pardoned Theuma would spill enough beans to point to his sordid (possibly after the fact) involvement in the affair – as indeed happened. Yet Muscat practically insisted on agreeing to the pardon on his own initiative. Had he been involved, that would have been indeed dangerous: Theuma’s revelation could open a can of worms which might very well have implicated all those involved – including Muscat.

So, while Muscat is a blot on the political landscape the nation is well rid of, it would be dishonest - though undoubtedly most gratifying to those who hate him with a passion – for the former uncrowned monarch of Maltese politics, now deposed, to be blamed for involvement in that terrible deed. On the contrary, everything points to the fact that one of the extenuating factors of Muscat’s colourful tenure was the unstinting efforts he made to uncover Daphne’s killers. Six weeks after the deed, the alleged material executors were apprehended and charged – and have been languishing in prison since then. It took two years to arrest the alleged mastermind, but the police appear to have built a strong case against him. By all accounts Muscat pushed all he could for the truth about the murder to emerge.

While the most honourable thing for Muscat to do right now is to disappear completely from the political scene – a self-imposed exile to somewhere truly distant and exotic, like Andromeda, on a one-way ticket, would fit the bill admirably – he should not do so with the label of accomplice in murder stuck to his name. It is perhaps inevitable that following Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, the resulting welter of emotions would not only fuel opposition to the administration perceived as responsible for her death, but also cloud judgement as to the proper and fair apportioning of guilt according to just and rational criteria.

Daphne was most cruelly murdered. Justice for that deed should not entail pinning guilt on individuals, who politically obnoxious though they be, have nothing to do with the actual taking of life.

Le Sauveur

Were I a card-carrying member of the PN – something I have never been nor am likely to ever become – in the forthcoming leadership vote I would almost certainly plump for Bernard Grech.

It’s not that I terribly - or even somewhat - dislike Delia as a person. On the contrary I think I find him something of a simpatiku, someone I would quite happily get to know and discuss politics and football with over a tea or ten at the local.

Likeability in politics has its value, but only to a limited extent. Far more than whether one, on a personal level, provokes feelings of attraction in other people, what matters is the ability of the politician involved to convince that he or she is reliable; someone you can trust with decisions about your most precious belongings, indeed with the lives of the people you love most.

Most importantly, beyond the psycho-emotional level, a leader of a major political party which legitimately expects to gain power is expected to gaugeably foster enough confidence in his/her ability to eventually lead the nation. One would have to be able to attract the votes of individuals whoare not normally supporters of the party. The polls show, very conclusively, that a considerable slice of party membership is not willing to vote PN as long as Delia leads it. Even in situation where the Government’s most charismatic leader is now a disgraced non-entity, the economy is on its knees,  mass unemployment looms, and the public is clearly dissatisfied with the maladroit handling of the second wave of Covid, the PN trails Labour by a mile.

The prospect of a massive PL victory is enough to give us all the shivers. Not because there is much chance that the PL will dismantle the institutions and turn the island into some Byelarus in the Med. Abela is definitely no Lukashenko and the 80s are decades, and a huge chunk of political maturity, behind us. However, big majorities do not make for good government. We might have been spared the sleaze which characterised the first Muscat government had the margin of victory been 3,500 rather than 35,000. Arrogance is power’s doppelganger. Remember Austin Gatt’s stomach-churningly haughty statement that certain provisions need not be discussed in Parliament because the PN had a clear majority of seats?

If the PN confirms Delia, it is doomed to continuing internecine struggles (if not an actual split) and certain massive defeat in the next election. That, in itself, may be neither here nor there for many Maltese. But the prospect of a government which need never look to its laurels and feels it can plough ahead with any initiative, however tainted, because there will not be any meaningful Parliamentary opposition to its designs, should worry us all to insomnia. Every night.

Grech is not the divisive figure Delia is, irrespective of whether the accusations levelled at the current PN leader in 2017, and since, are true or not. He can command the respect of all PN supporters, especially if Delia behaves responsibly, and formally and substantially accepts his leadership, inviting his besotted followers to follow suit. Although I have to say his last media performances have been less than scintillating, Grech seems to have it in him to inspire his followers to common goals and common action.

Best of all, with him as PN leader, while the next election will almost certainly be lost, the nation will still be in a position to set its mind at rest that Parliament will not be a caricature of that institution which breathes life into a democracy.