Franco Debono – that’s the one whose mobile keeps ringing – knows it all. He published a grand theory of why the PN lost. According to him, it’s because the PN sacked two waiters but kept the manager and the chef.
It’s not just Debono who’s convinced he knows why PN lost again – and provides absurdly ridiculous hypotheses. A long list of useful idiots have been dispensing their worthless unsolicited advice. From Clyde Puli, who conveniently withdrew his candidature the second the election date was announced, to Labour’s former Balzan councillor Desmond Zammit Marmarà, savaged by Labour diehards for daring to express a divergent opinion from Labour’s dogma.
Michael Falzon, the former PN minister caught with a €465,000 stash hidden in a Geneva bank and kicked out of the PN executive committee, still bearing his grudge, was another.
Randolph Debattista, Labour’s CEO and unelected MP, handpicked by Robert Abela, advised the PN to split. He progressively announced that Malta doesn’t need an opposition because “Labour will be the government and the opposition at the same time”.
All have their personal agenda for conveniently picking at the PN carcass. Like hungry vultures they circled in the air waiting for Labour’s devastating blow to finish off the party before they opportunistically swooped. Labour relished the scavenging spectacle.
The relevant question is not why PN lost but how Labour won. And that is why Labour skilfully guided the narrative towards the PN, distracting from the real reasons behind Labour’s victory. Those reasons are deeply disturbing.
While Debono, Falzon, Puli and the rest wilfully or unwittingly focus on the opposition, Labour gets away with illicit, autocratic corrupt practices.
Labour has perfected the art of winning in Malta. It hasn’t won a free and fair election. It wasn’t remotely fair.
Labour manipulated two key areas – money and minds – through violation of the law, the rules and the norms of decency as well as by making it clear to all they have no qualms defying the law. For those complicit with Labour in illegalities, Labour demonstrated they will never pay the price. Impunity is guaranteed.
Labour recognised early that money wins. On his fourth floor, Joseph Muscat set about building his own set of oligarchs – business people herded in by property developer Sandro Chetcuti, who struck deals with Labour, as Anġlu Farrugia revealed. Those oligarchs were rewarded with state support, subsidies, contracts and secret deals worth billions.
From the Zammit Tabona’s Captain Morgan and port ferries, to db Group and James Caterers’ quarter-billion SVPR deal, to Gasan’s Electrogas, to Vitals’s four billion euro concession, to Construct Furniture roadworks, Ta’ Kandja multimillion shooting range to the GWU jobless scheme. Abela’s business partners, Bonnici Brothers, collected millions from Malta Enterprise.
Those oligarchs are still siphoning off millions. They benefitted handsomely from their relationship with Labour. Others never won a single government contract – they couldn’t compete. The largest contracts were awarded either by direct order or through a rigged tendering process.
Labour won because it has the money- Kevin Cassar
Those oligarchs know they owe Labour not only their profits but their impunity from prosecution. Joseph Portelli, Abela’s dining buddy, arrogantly bragged of his close links to politicians. Portelli’s flagrant illegalities remain uninvestigated and unpunished. He is rewarded through government purchase of concrete from his illegal batching plant on public land. He’s rewarded with permits for Sannat mega-developments despite the case officer’s recommendation for refusal.
The NAO concluded the Vitals deal was likely illegal. But have Ram Tumuluri or Konrad Mizzi been interrogated? The NAO questioned the ‘regularity’ of the db ITS deal. Is db being investigated? The NAO found “lack of appropriate due diligence” and “an inconsistent approach” to Electrogas’ selection process.
Labour intentionally broadcasts its flouting of the rules. Abela pledged protection to those who broke them. I will protect you from the terrorism of the institutions, he seemed to be bragging. Complain to me directly. If you are with us, don’t worry about regulatory enforcement. That’s for the hard-headed ones who stick to the rules and refuse to join us in the orgiastic state looting, he practically implied.
Labour bends over backwards to protect those awarded millions in direct orders, among them Saviour Balzan, MaltaToday founder and co-owner. Labour is squandering public funds on 40 separate challenges to the data commissioner who ruled that information about Balzan’s contracts must be released. Labour’s message is clear: we break the rules and we’ll protect you when you break them too. Labour will reward you for it.
After a heritage artefact was found in his garden, Anton Refalo was made a minister. When Rosianne Cutajar accepted thousands of euros from Yorgen Fenech and then protected him at the Council of Europe, she was made chairperson of the parliamentary health committee. When Portelli committed illegalities, the prime minister joined him for dinner.
The more Labour sticks its neck out for crooks, the more invested those crooks become in cementing Labour’s grip on power. Labour’s defeat would spell much more than just loss of revenue for them. It would mean they’ll be subject to the law, exposed to prosecution and criminal investigation. Labour’s defeat means they lose everything, possibly even their freedom. That explains why Labour’s war chest is bottomless.
Labour doesn’t believe in rules or norms. They have no qualms abusing public funds for political advantage. What’s €70 million more debt when we can send cheques to everybody? What’s a few billions in contracts if the party’s electoral campaign will extinguish the opposition’s feeble voice? Labour even herded prisoners and demented patients to vote.
Nobody doubts that Labour’s massive funds killed the opposition. TVM and sister station One dominated the media. Social media was flooded with Labour adverts. Roads were covered in Labour slogans.
Labour won because it has the money. It’s got the money because Labour has no scruples. Labour breaks the law and subverts democracy to get it. It uses that money to sap democracy further by stifling dissent, throttling criticism, burying the truth and buying allegiance.
While Labour systematically dismantles democracy and advances autocracy, Debono confabulates about sacking waiters.