Talking credit when it belongs to others

Journalism is not often a rewarding job. Investigating big stories is no easy task, especially in countries like this one, where questions are often met with stonewalling tactics and uncovering corruption usually makes one the target of anger, aggression or ridicule. When occasionally a big story has a visible effect, politicians are eager to jump on the bandwagon and claim all the credit, leaving those who exposed those same stories unacknowledged and unappreciated.

The recent case where a court rescinded the land transfer deals entered into by controversial businessman Mark Gaffarena and the government is a classic example of the above. When the judgment was published on Wednesday, both parties were quick to claim victory, totally sidelining the journalist who had uncovered the case. The government and Labour Party propaganda machines claimed that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had won the court case he had “filed in the interests of the people” and that the courts had “proved him right.” This was repeated by GWU organ lOrizzont, which later said that the case won by the rime minister “showed that the rule of law in Malta is working.” TVM, that other mouthpiece for the government, also made sure to refer to the prime minister as many times as possible in its report.

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The fact is they all missed the point – that the shocking case of corruption, involving government departments and government officials, took place under Joseph Muscat’s watch when he was the minister responsible for lands. The Labour propaganda machine boasted that the prime minister had done the right thing. We feel that this was the least he could do – that he had no other choice but to go to the courts and ask them to cancel out the shameful deals carried out by people in his own administration.

Then there was the Nationalist Party, which also tried to take all the credit and ran with the headlines that the party had been proved right by the courts.

It is true that the PN kicked up a ruckus after the case was uncovered and dedicated many a parliamentary debate to it, but the fact remains that someone had to uncover the case first. That someone was a journalist called Caroline Muscat, who at the time worked with the Times of Malta. Both parties forgot the journalist’s work when claiming victory in the case.

This treatment is, of course, not limited to journalists. The recent case of Bulebel is another good example. The case was brought to prominence by a dedicated group of environmentalists and Żejtun residents, who spoke passionately about the agricultural land that was facing destruction and swayed public opinion against the planned factory expansion. In the end the government made a U-turn and scrapped the expansion plans. It then sent out press releases insisting that it was environmentally friendly, that common sense had prevailed and that it had listened to the people. If only this was the case when people spoke up against development at Żonqor, White Rocks and other places.

Then the PN media actually had the audacity to claim that the government U-turn came as a result of a visit party leader Adrian Delia had made in Bulebel.

It seems to us that both big parties are taking people for fools and are employing propaganda tactics that would be more suited to dictatorships like North Korea.

It is such a shame that the people who actually start the process that leads to change, the people who uncover corruption or successfully fight for the protection of the environment, are seldom given the recognition they deserve, that their work is drowned in the din of politicians as they grapple for the claim of victory.

Credit should be given where credit is due. This kind of selfishness by politicians can only serve to discourage citizens from doing what is right in future cases.