Massive crowd does not wash sins away

There he was, in his element, selling himself as the best thing that ever happened to Malta, while the adulating crowd cheered on.

It was Worker’s Day, and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, in his own words, used the manifestation to find out whether he still enjoys the support of the masses.

In the days prior to the event, Muscat said that the answer to all that was being thrown at him and his government would come on 1 May. It was a direct invitation to Labour supporters to go to Valletta to express solidarity with their leader. It was as if Muscat believed the presence of a huge crowd would wash away all his political sins and those of the people closest to him.

It was as if, somehow, a sea of red would be enough to make us all turn over a new leaf and forget all that has taken place.

This statement was followed up by a massive campaign on the social media, as well as person-to-person approaches via telephone calls and messages, urging all Labourites to attend. It was close to coercion, with many

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Labour supporters feeling compelled to attend even if they would have preferred a day in the countryside or an early dip. And people, many people, turned up to wave their flags and sing and dance to Muscat’s tune as the PM spoke about everything except what is troubling the country.

A year earlier, to the day, Muscat had announced a snap election in the wake of the revelations made about Egrant, a third company that was opened in Panama together with another two owned by his chief of staff Keith Schembri and Minister Konrad Mizzi. Last Tuesday, the event was held in similar circumstances as the pressure continues to pile up on Muscat.

The Egrant crisis has not gone away, and we are still waiting for the outcome of the magisterial inquiry.

This time, of course, there was no early election to call. But it’s not that the situation has changed for Muscat. If anything, it has become worse, and not only because, in between the two events, there was the heinous assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Yet Muscat continues to plough on, safe in the knowledge that with an economy that is doing well, there will not be a shift anytime soon. He is giving the best example of panem et circenses – just provide the people with food and entertainment and they will not complain.

The people, his people, closed both eyes to all accusations that were levelled against him and his closest allies – they did so on 3 June, 2017 and persist in keeping them shut now that more stories are emerging.

They are oblivious – possibly because they just follow Super One and TVM – to the damage that has been caused to the country because no-one has taken responsibility. Or, worse, they know what is happening and yet they don’t care.

Abroad, prime ministers and ministers resign for much less; and yet here in Malta accountability is a concept that is unheard of.

While others shun dishonesty, here in Malta many endorse it.