Thank you, Simon – Claudette Buttigieg

Harold Wilson, a British Labour prime minister, famously said a week is a long time in politics. Robert Abela is finding that out the hard way.

Two weeks have passed since he walked into Castille as Malta’s new Prime Minister. Every decision taken has already marked him irrevocably. So have the Uturns.

He was praised for putting a stop to the clearing of the Great Siege Monument, acting as the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial. He was praised for not including Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona in his Cabinet. Those around him claim he was behind the resignation of both Lawrence Cutajar, the former Police Commissioner, and Justyne Caruana, the former Gozo Minister.

Then came the bombshells. We got to know that, through his newly appointed Minister Byron Camilleri, his Government appointed Cutajar as, wait for it, “consultant for public safety and logistics.”

So, Cutajar will consult this new government on “public safety” when it was on his watch that a journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was assassinated. He will also be responsible for the detailed organisation and implementation of a complex operation, that is “logistics”, when he was not capable of arresting and interrogating an array of key people who could have shed light on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the many scandals she worked on. That omission alone could have cost her life. From what I’ve heard, the most outstanding logistical project Lawrence Cutajar ever worked on while Police Commissioner was the transformation of one of his offices at the Police Headquarters into a one-and-only Inter FC supporters’ club.

But nothing compares to the news that Konrad Mizzi resigned as minister in November, only to walk back into the same ministry two weeks later as “consultant” on a salary considerably higher than the one he had just given up.

That contract has now been torn up. It’s being blamed on Joseph Muscat. But how do you explain Mizzi being nominated to be Parliament’s head of delegation to the OSCE? That was Abela’s pick. It’s been reversed since but what does the choice tell us about Abela’s understanding of justice and good governance?

The Sunday papers gave us a clue to what may be going on behind the scenes. In one paper we read of how Michelle Muscat, along with a good number of Muscat faithfuls, campaigned for Robert Abela to be chosen to replace her husband.

In another we learnt of how Joseph Muscat himself is said to have accompanied the CEO of Steward Healthcare, Armin Ernst (who was also formerly the CEO of Vitals Global Healthcare), to a meeting with Robert Abela at Castille, possibly to renegotiate part of the notorious contract which gave Ernst full control of three hospitals.

Word has it that Chris Fearne is opposing such amendments, but the contract has only been published in a drastically redacted version and this means that the details of this deal are still very obscure.

Hope and confidence

Yes, a week is a long time in politics. In the past fortnight we’ve had other news.

Simon Busuttil has been chosen to become the new Secretary General of the largest political group in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party.

It came as a surprise to many of us. The timing couldn’t be better. What an achievement! And much deserved.

It gave us revived hope that those who fight for truth and justice do get rewarded after all. It also reminded us that there is room for perseverance based on principles and values.

The press interviews Simon Busuttil gave, as well as his solo appearance on Xarabank on Friday, showed us his true qualities. He made it clear that this prestigious appointment will not silence his voice from speaking out against injustices and that he intends to “finish what we started.”

Although he could have easily said that this new role has vindicated him, he did not. When asked if he was hurt when his own party sidelined him, he was a true gentleman and blamed it on his own need to be more convincing with those around him, who at the time could not see what we all know now.

For those who worked close to Simon Busuttil, there is a bittersweet taste about this new venture. It is sad to lose him.

Simon was the one who had approached me to contest the 2013 election.

Along with Lawrence Gonzi, he convinced me to turn my life and that of my family upside down, giving up an almost twenty-year career in the media. As party leader, Simon took bold decisions and trusted me with frontbench political roles which have helped me grow.

Of course it was Simon who proposed my name for the prestigious role of Deputy Speaker. The unanimous vote in parliament confirmed me as the first woman to hold this position and I have worked very hard to uphold the confidence shown in me.

Thank you, Simon.