Fear of a coup d'état

The three correspondents (Charles Buttigieg, January 16, Brigadier Maurice Calleja, January 25 and Karm Farrugia, January 28) who have sought to dismiss the report in the Corriere Della Sera that there was a fear of a coup d'état during the counting of votes in the election of 1987 have raised more questions than clarified the situation then. As far as I am aware that report was not challenged at the time, or since, until I reproduced it in my memoirs No, Honourable Minister.

Mr Farrugia has introduced a red herring since the incident he recounts could only have happened hours after the crucial moment when the electoral commission had established that the Nationalist Party had obtained more than 50 per cent of the number 1 votes cast, and thus won the right to form a government.

Does this explain why, in Brigadier Calleja's words, "there was no one in command for quite some time"? Mr Calleja goes further and claims that this extraordinary state of affairs "was clear proof that the Nationalist Party had not yet made contact with the Acting President until well after Dr Mifsud Bonnici had tendered his resignation". In a true democracy it is the head of state, or his authorised representative, who makes contact with the leader of the winning party and not the other way around. Responsibility is not shed by sending a conditional and anticipated resignation and driving off home.

What is significant is that both Mr Calleja and Mr Farrugia make no reference at all to the demand by the Malta Labour Party for an interruption of four hours in the counting of votes, and its link with the arrival of a strong police contingent (quoting Mr Buttigieg) but described as a few policemen by the Brigadier! I would submit that such a move at that tense moment, and bearing in mind the recent framing of Peter Paul Busuttil, could reasonably be seen as an "attempt to disrupt the proceedings" foreseen by Dr Mifsud Bonnici himself. As the recent events in Kenya have shown, this could easily amount to an attempt at a coup d'état.

Since correspondents are providing additional bits of information as they go along, may I add that I did not take the report in the Corriere della Sera at face value. I checked the facts soon after they happened with persons directly involved, and that is why I decided to include it in my book.