I don’t know Bernard Grech personally. From what I’m told by those who know him, the Nationalist Party leader is a decent man, conservative in his beliefs and quite churchy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
However, those who know him well say that the opposition leader is unable to put his foot down to the extremist faction within his party and its fringes that have a huge hold over the PN. Its way of doing politics, since ever, is that of inflicting the greatest harm possible on its political adversaries.
They do so through well-orchestrated campaigns by damaging the reputation of others and alleging things that inflict the greatest possible harm.
Lately, this way of doing politics has taken a new shape: they are using the law courts to try and demolish the political careers of anyone who stands in their way.
Let’s call a spade by its name: this is a political strategy of the cruelest form and shape.
It causes untold hardships for those they target and creates an extremely difficult situation for their families.
They shame you publicly; plant damaging stories in the press against you; use social media platforms and bloggers to inflict the greatest possible harm.
Then they go to court, accusing you of criminal behaviour. By the time you clear your name, you would have gone through hell and back.
Ask Labour MP Carmelo Abela. Leading members of the Nationalist Party accused him of criminal association. They attacked him relentlessly. He lost his cabinet seat. He went to court and eventually cleared his name. But the damage was done. The pain they had inflicted on him was enormous.
Their latest target is Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and his wife. A magisterial inquiry had been requested following allegations made by the Nationalist Party media in conjunction with a former and failed Nationalist MP.
Camilleri strongly denied the allegations and Prime Minister Robert Abela wrote a hard-hitting Facebook post denouncing the cruel political assassination attempt made against the Gozo minister and the way the law courts were being used as part of these villainous attacks by the PN and its closest allies.
Robert Abela is right. A red line has been crossed- Brian Scicluna
The prime minister called upon his justice minister to take stock of the situation and effect changes to the way magisterial inquiries are requested.
Abela is right. A red line has been crossed.
It was an off-with-the-gloves moment by the prime minister and he’s right. The law courts should not be used as political tools to undermine one’s political adversary.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that, realising how difficult it has become for the PN to convince the electorate through policies and proposals, it is pinning its hopes on using the law courts to make political gains, and, in so doing, it is allowing failed politicians and their allies to persevere with this cruel way of doing politics.
Faced with this situation, instead of coming down strongly against this politics of hatred – for this is what it is and there is no other way to describe it – Grech allows it to happen and, in most cases, he supports it through the use of his party’s media and press releases.
This is a disgrace, and, apart from inflicting unimaginable harm and pain on its victims, this obscene way of doing politics is giving politics a bad name.
It is widely acknowledged that Grech’s unwillingness to put a stop to this madness is due to the fact that he is afraid to bell the cat.
Everyone knows who the culprits are. They are vocal and proud of their cruel ploys.
But Grech is helpless.
He knows that the minute he tries to put a stop to it, he will meet Adrian Delia’s same fate.
What’s more, Grech is aware that he is making absolutely no inroads with the electorate and he thinks, falsely, that his only hope of gaining political ground is damage inflicted on his political adversaries.
The politics of hatred that has found fertile ground within the PN has been rejected by the electorate time and again. And it will be rejected again.
Brian Scicluna is a lecturer and business and technology consultant.