Waxing lyrical about his benevolence, Robert Abela likes to brag that he let go of prerogatives the prime minister enjoyed, like the appointment of certain top officials. But he then arrogates to himself the right to decide when an erring politician or greedy top official can be pardoned.
In Abela’s rehabilitation centre, a ‘recidivist’ politician who keeps putting her foot in it qualifies for ‘graduation’ just months after her latest blunder.
Another who was twice forced to resign from cabinet has also been absolved.
And the man who headed the very sensitive financial services regulator and the gaming watchdog before has also been rehabilitated as the new Project Green boss.
The offences of Rosianne Cutajar, Joseph Cuschieri and Justyne Caruana were not petty or silly mistakes. So, when, for his own reasons, Abela opts to forgive them, he is only bolstering the prevailing culture of impunity, so well defined in the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry report.
Accepting back erring politicians is a complex and contentious matter and leaders worth their salt usually consider several aspects.
Among them is public perception, whether people think the erring politician has genuinely learnt a lesson and has come back in line.
In Cutajar’s case, it certainly cannot be said she made any effort to redeem herself. In fact, she herself declared she wanted to ‘pig out’, as many others were doing. It is evident she considers politics a gateway to self-aggrandisement.
In early 2021, Cutajar resigned as junior minister over a property deal involving Yorgen Fenech. Failing to learn her lesson, last April, she ended up as an independent MP after the ‘pigging out’ chats between her and Fenech were leaked.
Characteristically projecting himself as an intrepid leader who does not fear making tough decisions, Abela had then insisted that, on his watch, Cutajar will never be able to run as a Labour candidate again. That decision, he went on, further raised the bar of standards in public life.
He adopts the same stand with Caruana who resigned as Gozo minister in early 2020 and then, again, as education minister in late 2021.
One can understand being kind to her over the first case – triggered by a close friendship between her then husband and Fenech.
However, deciding to commission a good friend to draw up a report on the National Sports School, when she must have known that was beyond his competence, is unpardonable. Abela’s decisions are, no doubt, motivated by political convenience, knowing there is an electoral test in less than six months time. He is throwing ethics, morals and integrity out of the window. His government’s acceptance to give Cuschieri an official position risks, at best, sending the wrong signal that Malta rewards executives who have no qualms selling themselves for 30 pieces of silver.
We are not doubting Cuschieri’s competence in his field but his actions show that not only failed to do his duty diligently but, far more importantly, put Malta’s reputation as a serious financial services centre in grave jeopardy.
Cutajar, Cuschieri and, now, Caruana have been given Abela’s blessing when an increasing number of cases of sleaze and abuse have become a big concern for a wide spectrum of the electorate.
Yet, all seems to be fair to Abela, so long as his kind of absolution means more votes for him. However, he ought to bear in mind that he might eventually well get his fingers badly burnt… just like his predecessor.