Malta’s Labour Party is desperately trying to wash its hands of 17 Black. It cynically declared that “none of the people named in the 17 Black inquiry are active members of the party”. It’s too late now. 17 Black has Labour written all over it.
Labour birthed, suckled, nurtured and protected that dark, shameful stain. Even now, that the inquiry has recommended that key figures from within Labour should be charged, Labour is still defending 17 Black and attacking those who fought to uncover the truth about that despicable criminal scheme.
How can Labour make such claims? Didn’t Labour insist for years that Konrad Mizzi did nothing wrong and Keith Schembri was a businessman and had every right to set up murky financial structures in remote secretive jurisdictions? The whole Labour parliamentary group voted repeatedly to protect Mizzi and Schembri.
They were given the opportunity to snuff out the dark poison of 17 Black. Instead, they protected it and the handful of key people who conspired to loot the state of hundreds of millions of euros.
But Labour’s biggest guilt in the 17 Black saga was choosing to protect the chief architect of 17 Black – Joseph Muscat. There would have been no 17 Black without Muscat.
Didn’t Muscat keep telling us for years that “no wrongdoing had taken place”? Muscat insisted Mizzi was within his rights as long as he declared his New Zealand trust. Muscat insisted that Mizzi “told the truth on his business affairs”. Muscat defended and protected Mizzi and Schembri, categorically declaring in parliament he wouldn’t sack either. The inquiry was just on “the company and nothing else”, Muscat lied. And Labour cheered him on.
Muscat forced Labour Party delegates to appoint Mizzi deputy leader despite the shocking revelations. And Labour complied: 96.6 per cent of Labour delegates voted to make Mizzi deputy leader.
Muscat retained Schembri as his chief of staff till the very end, praising him for his contribution even on the eve of his arrest and since. And Labour concurred.
Muscat did far worse. He actively obstructed the setting up of a magisterial inquiry into the 17 Black scandal. And Chris Fearne defended him. Muscat fought tooth and nail at every stage to block the investigation. He managed to significantly delay the inquiry. And Labour supported him wholeheartedly.
Muscat was, still is, integral to the 17 Black scandal. He led the gang which orchestrated it and then desperately pulled all the stops to abort the 17 Black inquiry. He lodged that appeal against the inquiry together with Mizzi and Schembri. They were joined by Brian Tonna, Karl Cini, Adrian Hillman and Malcolm Scerri. All of them now face charges for serious crimes. And Labour was always on their side, defending them.
Muscat cannot be extricated from 17 Black. Neither can Labour. Yet, the party insists nobody from Labour was involved. Labour is still lambasting the PN for trying “to give the impression that there are people involved who are currently active or at the heart of the Labour Party, this is a lie and is false”.
Muscat is still part of Labour. He voted at the last party conference for senior party officials. He was touted as a Labour MEP candidate. Robert Abela recently commented: “Joseph Muscat was never out of the Labour Party. I believe he has more to give to Labour.”
Muscat is inextricably bound to 17 Black, no matter what Labour says. He’s still “currently active” and “at the heart of Labour”.
As Labour scrambles to deal with the fallout of another magisterial inquiry exposing the inner workings of Muscat’s triumvirate, the nation should be thankful for the resilience and determination of the maligned Simon Busuttil, David Casa and Jason Azzopardi.
Labour subjected them to humiliation, persecution and mockery. Who can forget the “empty pizza boxes” jibe? The Labour Party works hand in hand with its leaders, tormenting those who seek the truth, who demand justice.
What’s even more depressing is that Labour is still at it. Abela is still protecting Muscat. He’s still allowing him use of a diplomatic passport and state-funded offices despite facing criminal charges.
Abela is still providing Muscat’s wife with a state-funded car and drivers. Even worse, Abela is actively seeking to deprive us of our right to request magisterial inquiries. Abela claims that “the extremist faction of the PN” is “abusing the system”. He accused Azzopardi of “dragging people through a calvary of judicial proceedings for nothing”.
Joseph Muscat is inextricably bound to 17 Black, no matter what Labour says- Kevin Cassar
Well, the magistrates have seen the evidence and they don’t think it’s for nothing.
Everything Labour insisted was a lie has ended up in court – the alleged Pilatus money-laundering machine, the Vitals Steward fraudulent concession, the Panama Papers revelations, the 17 Black deals, the disability benefits scandal.
It’s only thanks to magisterial inquiries requested by members of the opposition, Repubblika and Azzopardi that we’ve started to uncover the truth that Labour vociferously denies and still works to conceal.
What’s even more galling is Abela bragging: “I have asked the justice minister to finalise a reform of magisterial inquiries without delay so this abuse can be stopped.”
What abuse? Every magisterial inquiry requested has invalidated Labour’s false claims that there was no basis for requesting them. Every inquiry exposed Labour’s lies. The 17 Black inquiry shows just how vital that right to request a magisterial inquiry is – just as Abela plans to deprive us of it. Abela has a knack of making a fool of himself every time – his timing is impeccable. Or, maybe, the magistrate timed the inquiry’s conclusion to harm Labour, again. Maybe it’s more political terrorism against Abela by the judiciary.
The sad truth is that our police repeatedly fail their duty. They refuse to investigate the most damning revelations.
They’re still systematically ignoring incriminating evidence provided by independent journalists, the NAO and the standards commissioner’s investigations. So is the AG. They are complicit with Labour in burying wrongdoing and damaging the country.
None of the long list of Labour’s shocking scandals would have come to light without Daphne Caruana Galizia, Repubblika, the opposition and independent journalists. Mizzi would still be deputy leader, Muscat still be prime minister and Schembri chief of staff.
Instead of finally ditching Muscat and coming clean, the Labour Party continues to protect those indicted for serious crimes. The Labour Party is still letting itself be used to shield alleged criminals from justice, tainting its present and its future. As the 17 Black inquiry was concluded, Labour attacked Bernard Grech for “taking the side of these villainous attacks based on lies”. It accused the PN of “abusing legal proceedings and participating in the politics of hatred… causing untold harm and suffering to those who do not agree with them”.
The Labour Party should ask itself who is really causing harm and suffering. Who is defending the lies and concealing the truth? How many magisterial inquiries does Labour need before acknowledging those shocking scandals weren’t unfortunate mistakes? When will Labour accept that Muscat wasn’t just unlucky?
When will Labour apologise to the nation for its devious role in the grimy 17 Black scheme?
Kevin Cassar is a professor of surgery.