Nine years ago today, the Labour Party used its May Day celebrations to mobilise its core supporters in defence of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, whose Panama companies had been internationally outed the previous month. Malta was under scrutiny by the international press. But, supporters were told, that was driven by envy of Malta’s economic success.

That was neither the beginning nor the end of it. When Daphne Caruana Galizia had outed Mizzi and Schembri, back in February, the Labour machine denounced her story as fake news.

Then she began to reveal the details. Joseph Muscat stepped in to vouch for Mizzi. He said there was nothing nefarious: Mizzi had planned to declare the Panama company in his forthcoming parliamentary declaration; he, Muscat, had seen the draft; and he assured journalists there was nothing wrong, since Mizzi had “an international family”.

Schembri also denied wrongdoing. When Australia’s top financial journalist analysed the findings, Schembri accused him of not knowing his job. The Labour machine said Neil Chenoweth was conjuring a scandal out of nothing because he knew Matthew Caruana Galizia.

By May Day, things had changed again. Mizzi was made to resign as Labour deputy leader, a post he had occupied for only two months. Muscat told the cameras he was disappointed even though Mizzi’s sin was naivety, not corruption.

He has never explained why he was disappointed or why Mizzi had to resign as deputy leader. Just weeks previously, he had assured us he had known all about the Panama company and New Zealand trust. Muscat had approved the draft parliamentary declaration. And he had supported Mizzi’s bid for the very deputy leadership.

The saga of denials, evasions and lies about the Panama companies and the Electrogas power station continued.

But this brief account is enough to show Robert Abela’s intellectual dishonesty when he fobs off questions about the Electrogas report as an endlessly “recycled story”.

It’s his evasions and his party machine’s lies that are recycled. The Electrogas inquiry report is current news for a simple reason. Labour has always denied there was corruption involved and gaslit the critics. Now, there’s an inquiry report that will either prove Labour right or show its machine was complicit in a cover-up.

What we’ve got instead is more gaslighting. Abela pretends he doesn’t need to answer questions because the press has been asking them for almost a decade.

First, they scoff at you. Then they smear you. Then they lie and stall and prevent questions being asked in parliament.

Then, when an inquiry promises to settle the issue, they are indignant that you are still asking the questions they refuse to answer.

No, prime minister. The story only becomes old when you answer the questions crying out for an answer.

First, what did you know and when? Over three years ago, the US took the unusual step of declaring that Mizzi and Schembri are barred from entry into the country, because of “credible evidence” of their involvement in “significant corruption” in the Electrogas deal.

Prime Minister, you insist on keeping inquiry expenses reasonable. Did you make a formal request for the US to hand over its “credible evidence” and save the inquiry some money?

No, prime minister. The story only becomes old when you answer the questions crying out for an answer

You certainly didn’t accuse it of envy of Malta’s success. Over the following months, you twice had photographs taken with President Joe Biden, in Spain and New York. While discussing US-Malta relations, did you think of asking about this grave accusation that put Malta’s credibility under a cloud?

Second, and sticking with your concern with inquiry expenses, what is your view about Muscat rubbing his phone clean? As Labour leadership candidate, you had no problem telling your Xarabank interviewer that you did not believe Schembri had lost his phone.

What is your view on Muscat’s phone? The issue is not just the scrubbing. Muscat wasted police time and money by not giving them the password to a phone that had no data to offer. Was this not a sign of contempt for the police, whom you want us to trust?

Third, it is reported that Karl Cini, the Nexia BT accountant who opened the Panama companies, testified to the inquiry that Mizzi and Schembri wanted bank accounts. But Mizzi has always declared that he didn’t want one and that Cini must have been confused about his instructions.

Should we not be able to see what Cini actually says to see who has lied?

Mizzi’s denials enabled him to hang on as minister for the duration of Muscat’s reign.

Do you regret that Labour’s parliamentary group helped shield Mizzi from probing questions before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC)?

If Cini’s testimony is not new to you, prime minister, that means you’ve known for some time that Mizzi was lying. And yet your MPs protected him from scrutiny. How come?

Fourth, Labour’s PAC representatives also gave an easy time to Paul Apap Bologna, an Electrogas investor. Yet it’s reported that he may have misled the inquiry. This, too, is news.

Would you support hauling him back to parliament where Labour could demand that he explains himself?

Fifth, if what has leaked is correct, do you, as Labour leader, feel you should apologise to those core supporters who were fed lies by the political party they love and trust – especially those who came out in support nine years ago today?

Prime minister, if you think the leaks are misleading or downright untrue, weaponised for partisan purposes, then ask for the report to published. If the leaks are true, then answer the obvious questions – without hiding behind sham excuses.

Ranier Fsadni