Muscat’s contradictions

L-Erbgħa fost il-Ġimgħa on TVM was a jawdropper for the sheer audacity of the disgraced former Prime Minister. Nonetheless, in a long career of lies, it serves as an opportunity to point out glaring contradictions in the narrative.

Muscat claims to have been ignorant of the rampant corruption in his administration, and that he is only now learning the full picture of what was going on. As ridiculous as that claim is left standing on its own two feet, it becomes an abominable statement when put under some close examination.

For how can Muscat blame our institutions for not uncovering corruption, when it was he himself who appealed against a magisterial inquiry into the key protagonists of the Panama Papers revelations. Joseph Muscat actively blocked investigations from taking place, which would have investigated if Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi broke any laws by opening secret accounts in Panama.

Let us turn back the clock to July 2017, where this magisterial inquiry was first requested. Of course, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi both lashed out with the full support of the Labour Party behind them, claiming that the allegations were nothing but lies. The absurdity of the situation should have been plain to see; if there was nothing to hide, why then interfere with the work of our courts?

On 26 July, Magistrate Ian Farrugia opened a criminal inquiry into the allegations, saying that the prerequisites for an inquiry had been satisfied. What followed was an appeal being filed immediately by Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri, Brian Tonna, Karl Cini, and businessmen Malcolm Scerri and Adrian Hillman. Their appeal, unfortunately, succeeded.

The Office of the Prime Minister then released a statement highlighting the judge’s remarks that the claims were not substantiated and that they therefore “qualified as speculation in the absence of further evidence”.

Today, Konrad Mizzi has been expelled from the Labour Party, and Keith Schembri was recently arrested. It remains a remarkable cover-up operation with the usual spin we have gotten accustomed to over the years that Joseph Muscat continues to try and lie his way to freedom.

However, the cloud which hangs over him is merely the propaganda that obscures the light of day. Many defend him because of the power of a false dream; a legacy built on dirty money, murder and an unsustainable economy that drinks the quality of life of the majority to enrich a select few. There will be a reckoning.