Repeating mistakes - Rachel Borg

Robert Abela may very much like to be the Prime Minister that Joseph Muscat was, enjoying his popularity, but with a special indulgence from the Pope which perhaps Joseph and Michelle tried to obtain during their last visit to the Vatican in December, at a time when he had already resigned.

The PM would do well to take a new stock of the country, its political landscape, its mood, economy, finances and direction and all the damning reports. If he does not do that, he risks falling into the same GonziPN governance that brought about the shift in politics back in 2013.

He may think that he owes his new position as Prime Minister to the many cronies of Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and the designer set-up at Labour headquarters, Castille and Malta Taghna lkoll. In fact, a short rewind will actually take him to, in particular, the weeks of November and December 2019, when protests of civil society escalated and led to the pressure and the shift in mood where not just the people of Malta but also the very Cabinet and Labour senior figures experienced a sense of anger and that enough is enough, resulting in the resignations of Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.

Abela should not forget that if it were not for the opportunity for a new leader to be elected, he would not be where he is today, whether or not there were or were not the manoeuvers from the party machine and the various influencers behind his final victory.

He should grasp that the Maltese who were very happy to trade in Joseph Muscat and his partners are not going to be happy to simply have a newer version of Muscat, complete with all the strings and the phony jobs, shady contracts and entrapments of a PM under the control of the past organization.

It cannot be said enough, that there really was nothing so special for the country, about Joseph Muscat and his government’s mere 6 years in power, apart from the majority his party held.

All that happened during that time, was that Malta ushered in a new era, a different outlook and that it had hoped for better things to come. In reality, the damage that has been done to our reputation was enormous and the only thing that people wish to see now from Robert Abela is serious and meaningful work to restore our name, our image and our reputation before we can begin to rebuild an equitable and positive management of our country.

All these games that persist such as Konrad Mizzi being nominated as Head of the OSCE from Malta, Keith Schembri becoming a frequent flyer and the ex PM Joseph Muscat turning up at the Steward’s meeting are really out of touch with the political reality. When will Abela understand that parochial politics should be a thing of the past? Malta and Gozo together are the size of a small city in the UK, or under.

Yet we have one of the largest Cabinets and the divisions within the country echo its parishes, churches and band-clubs. It is no coincidence the carnival float chose that sensitive topic and had absolutely no moral ethic in doing so.

The way that Gozo is treated, like a law apart from Malta, where there is a Queen and her subjects and all they want is to go hunting and have special permissions to pretend to be part of

Malta but in fact, run their own show, indicates a snobbery that has no more chance of succeeding than its 5-day Minister did.

Does he think that hunters rule in Malta and Gozo? That they are the only demographic that counts besides the construction supremos? The motion of giving the hunting regulation to the Gozo Minister, Clint Camilleri, is cheap and shallow. It shows that the motivation of Robert Abela is not the best interest of the country and the Maltese and Gozitans, but a poor imitation of a degenerated power which served to get Muscat disgraced and removed from office.

All those staged hugs and comments, just a degree above Chris Fearne’s RIPN, have served their warped purpose and can be binned and a new leadership put in place that we deserve. We had enough of the corruption, the entitlement, the appropriation of national property and assets, the fake jobs and the luxury gifts and most of all, the sick manoeuvers to hold on to power and money. It is also time for Ministers to start having a conversation with the independent media and stop running away like scared rabbits every time they are asked a question. By what right do they chose to not give account to the people of their decisions and their work? Are they individuals or simply a small part of a machine?

You have been given that power. Why compromise your ability to govern democratically and in the way expected from a developed country, steeped in history and a member of the international community? What on earth would compel you to ignore that Joseph Muscat was chosen 2019 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and allow him in to a meeting with Steward’s Health Care? Even the most brief and superficial assessments would lead you to see that there is no place, ever, whatsoever, for the likes of Joseph Muscat amongst normal government.

The Malta Development Association can have its nerves and anxiety. Is our Prime Minister to be a nanny or a legitimate leader? How long is he going to hold the skirts of the Malta Taghna biss (only our Malta) crowd?

Our government resembles a prison where inmates have to protect themselves and make all sorts of compromises and deals to be allowed to sell drugs or hold the power, to stay alive. A micro-society ruled by fear.

People do not want this anymore. Labour MPs who do not even have the guts to speak out, apparently, do not want it either. A few here and there think they can roll the dice and win. They are mistaken. Robert Abela is there because the people had enough of the injustice, the destruction around us and the association of persons of office with criminals. They protested the murder of a journalist, the attack on the media and free speech and the ruin of our country’s pride and reputation.

There are those who worry that sales in property are plummeting or that retail is not as robust as it was. Others might think that the new floors that have been added to their hotel or the new project in Sliema, Valletta, Balluta, Fomm-ir-Rih, Qala and many other places, will be jeopardized. Past policies and decisions that compromised our nation and sold our health, security and long-term prosperity must not be repeated.

At this very same time, the destruction under permit or in defiance of, by Infrastructure Malta, is the continuity of the authoritarian satellites of Keith Schembri and Joseph Muscat. People like Frederick Azzopardi need to be stopped and cannot form part of an honest and healthy planning.

The decision rests with Robert Abela as to whether he chooses to meet the expectations of a party loosing itself in its past or whether he joins the now happening era of modern politics. The protests will continue. People are not appeased just by his appearance and his utterances. Some are and have faith in him, but that will not save him. This goes beyond what the Labour media and TV station can do to wipe the memory of corruption and criminality.

It needs the man himself, Robert Abela, to bring the change to this dud government and to understand that the country comes before the party and our proud nation will not suffer to be run for the benefit of a few moguls and hoods.