On Saturday, March 20, a spell was broken. Political associates who have long been suspected and accused of graft and corruption, but were thought to be untouchable, were finally arraigned and placed under preventive arrest.

The prime minister’s reaction to these events was disappointing. In his all-too-familiar dismissive and impenitent tone, Robert Abela continued with his usual “the institutions are working” mantra. Meanwhile, his party and its twisted machinery, which have, for the past eight years, dismissed every single allegation of corruption as “vindictive attacks”, continue to spin the ridiculous narrative that these arrests related exclusively to matters concerning private companies and took place prior to the Labour Party’s ascent to power.

Firstly, this notion is incorrect as the charge sheet refers to offences spanning over a long period between 2005 and 2019. Secondly, is the Labour Party saying that the criminal behaviour of its functionaries was the responsibility of whoever happened to be in government and not the party’s? Thirdly, if Keith Schembri and his network were already engrossed in corruption before they were in power, Labour’s responsibility is even greater.

It was its leader who handpicked Schembri as his chief of staff, it was its leader who gave Brian Tonna an office in Castille, and it was its leader who appointed Matthew Pace on the Planning Authority board until he was removed by a court decision.

How can Abela claim that the “institutions are working” when it was Daphne Caruana Galizia who exposed this large-scale illicit activity way back in 2016? When it was the Nationalist Party and Simon Busuttil who presented eight box files of detailed evidence to open two magisterial inquiries, one related to the Adrian Hillman kickbacks and one related to the Tonna passport kickbacks, as the prosecution is alleging in the charges?

This is a step which is only undertaken by a private citizen when he feels that the institutions are failing to investigate and prosecute a suspected crime. The fact that the evidence presented has now led to the arraignment of 11 persons is confirmation that, yes, the institutions failed to investigate and prosecute a valid suspicion of illegality which was widely reported.

It is confirmation that Abela and his party lied when they claimed Busuttil was simply “wasting the magistrate’s time”, that “the box files were empty”, that this was an act of “vengeance against the hard-working and successful Keith Schembri”, that Busuttil was “a liar” and that the Nationalist Party was simply “negative”.

The arraignments, while significant, were only one more step on the long road to justice, a road which was only made possible by Caruana Galizia, who was the first person to see beyond the glamorous facade being presented to the public and call it by what it was: “a tangled web of corruption, sleaze and white-collar crime”.

Robert Abela continued to place his trust in Joseph Muscat and Keith Schembri up until the very end to get the position that he is in today- Mark Anthony Sammut

Despite the campaign of intimidation organised by Schembri and his henchmen, Daphne continued to press on and expose the nexus of criminality that was purposefully woven for the few to unjustly prosper at the benefit of the taxpayers. Tragically, Daphne paid dearly for her relentless fight against organised crime and state capture: she paid with her own life. 

Had the institutions acted on Caruana Galizia’s reporting five years ago, she would still be among us today.

Yet, where was Abela in 2017? He was fighting tooth and nail to get the Man of the Year for Corruption and Organised Crime, Joseph Muscat, ‘ix-Xiħ’, re-elected as our prime minister.

Abela was an integral part of the same Muscat government which protected and empowered Schembri and his network, sharing an office in Castille with him and Tonna.

Abela was endorsing a systematic campaign to discredit Caruana Galizia and Busuttil, at a point even alluding, with no sense of shame and with incredulous cruelty, that her own son was complicit in her assassination. 

Abela continued to place his trust in Muscat and Schembri up until the very end to get the position that he is in today.

And, yet, instead of apologising for these actions, instead of admitting that the country owes a debt of gratitude to Caruana Galizia and Busuttil, instead of apologising for leading a party which looks more like a criminal organisation than a political movement, Abela continues to spout the same worn-out propaganda. At a time when the country requires strong leadership and direction, we are being led by an arrogant, weak and deeply compromised leader.

How can we trust Abela to clean up the rot when he is part of the very system that put our country into this mess? When his own cabinet harbours a minister who allegedly abetted an armed robbery?

No, we are not a normal country. This is a country which has been captured by a criminal organisation disguised as a political movement. And it is about time we realise that no amount of benefits, promotions or job appointments can justify entrusting the mafia and its web of corruption, money laundering, theft and murder to lead our Malta.

The need for Malta to start a fresh page has never been greater. And the solution can never be the same organisation which created the problem. It is only a change in government and a radical reform of our institutions that will stop the decay of political and moral authority in this country.

We owe it to future generations to stop the rot and to ensure that full justice is served on all those who robbed and sold our country for personal gain, murdered one of our own and destroyed our once infallible reputation.

Mark Anthony Sammut is a member, Nationalist Party executive.