Put all cards on the table

Is Robert Abela living on borrowed time?

This question arises from the statements and body language of the prime minister himself since the conclusion of the Vitals/Steward magisterial criminal inquiry.

His demeanour is not that of a prime minister who should have backed the magistrate in question in her conclusions. Yet, he and his cohort, former prime minister Joseph Muscat, have fired all cannon at full blast not only against a magistrate who finished a job one could not envy to have as one’s daily bread and butter but also against journalists and institutions.

Also, there is the matter of suddenly shutting down our House of Representatives a week before the date that was agreed upon by both parties. No parliament, no debate. A coup de grâce for Malta’s highest institution.

Tantamount to a dictatorial decision. Is there a probability that our prime minister is involved in the greatest heist in Maltese history? Perhaps that is why no one has managed to obtain a full copy of the inquiry.

Of course, these are only presumptions. However, it is public knowledge that Abela, as prime minister, passed, at least, two budgets where more than €100 million were voted towards the fraudulent sale of our three hospitals when he was aware that Steward had failed in their mission. The opposition, backed by findings of the National Audit Office, had, quite rightly, drew the government’s attention to this fact, even in parliament.

As the Italians say: did he have a mano in pasta (finger in the pie)? I wish the prime minister would clarify. He can claim parliamentary privilege as much as he likes but the Malta Treasury belongs to all of us.

ANTHONY SALIBA  – St Paul’s Bay

Sometimes it’s prejudice

It is cruel to let Alan Cooke wait so long for a reason why billions of people have failed to embrace the Christian faith.

If the Church is so clearly the work of God, shining before the eyes of men like a white city on a mountain top, it is hard to believe and ruminate why so many oppose or stand aloof from her. But reflect that, even in this, she resembles her divine founder, who was rejected by the people among whom He lived and taught. Yet, in those days, they joined the mob that clamoured for His crucifixion and, in our times, treat Him with indifference and, worse, kill some of His followers.

God alone, who reads the heart of men, can return the full answer. However, man can be convinced of the reasonableness of believing and, yet, not believe.

God alone can give the human the will, understanding and inspiration essential for submission to the Catholic Church, but this is often foiled by the faults of the individual himself or is restricted by the transgressions of his ancestors, who have bequeathed to him a formidable legacy of prejudice that tends to check or diminish the influence of light and grace on his soul.

The sun (Son) which shines on wax softens it, the sun which shines on mud hardens it.

JOHN AZZOPARDI – Żabbar