Time after time, Prime Minister Robert Abela has proven himself to be a man of convenience. His words do not carry weight. He acts on the spur of the moment and his actions are motivated, first and foremost,  by political expediency and his own self-interest.

He thrives on the exploitation of the ordinary citizen and covers up for his immoral and unethical behaviour and that of his close allies and Labour diehards.

In one glaring example, Abela tried to dupe the population by saying that it was absolutely unnecessary to launch a public inquiry into the tragic death of 20-year-old Jean Paul Sofia, whose life ended on December 3, 2022, buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed illegal timber factory under construction.

Abela insisted that a magisterial inquiry was enough to ensure justice in this case and, conveniently, played down the fact that it was not legally permitted to delve into failures of responsibility of the State leading to the incident.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard even came up with the political blunder that a public inquiry would not reveal anything different from a magisterial inquiry.

Abela showed gross insensitivity towards Sofia’s bereaved parents by persistently rejecting their pleas for a public inquiry.

He brazenly insisted that Industrial Innovative Solutions (INDIS) Malta, a government entity run by chief canvassers of Economy Minister Silvio Schembri, should be trusted to investigate the emphyteutical concession of the land on which the factory was being built to shady developers, when it was INDIS itself that had leased the land to them.

Abela soon changed his stance after sensing that a vigil that Sofia’s parents had organised for their son at Castille Square would have a large attendance. He informed Sofia’s parents that he had reversed a parliamentary motion passed five days earlier in which 40 Labour MPs voted to obstruct a public inquiry.

Abela’s U-turn did not dissuade Sofia’s parents from calling the vigil that same evening. The massive crowd that attended shamed Abela for his gross arrogance and insensitivity as he exited Castille.

Abela’s opposition to a public inquiry resembles his disgraced predecessor Joseph Muscat’s obstinate two-year long resistance to the establishment of a full, independent, impartial and effective public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, amounting to a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Robert Abela has no scruples against feeding at the public trough

On June 26, 2019, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a landmark resolution by an overwhelming majority which gave Malta a three-month ultimatum to conform itself to its obligation of holding the inquiry.

Muscat was forced to bow down.

Just six days before the expiration of the ultimatum, Muscat announced a considerably undermined board to carry out the inquiry. It was vested with significantly limited terms of reference and composed of three members, two of whom had a conflict of interest.

It was only a few hours before the Council of Europe was scheduled to discuss these discrepancies that Muscat finally accepted to substitute these two members and grant significantly broader terms of reference and powers to the board.

The public inquiry concluded that the State was responsible for the murder of the journalist and blamed Muscat and the entire cabinet for failing to ensure that the rule of law was respected, by giving their approval or blessing to the sense of impunity that was being created in the heart of the administration.

On his part, Abela tried to save his face after all the anguish that he subjected Sofia’s parents to by publishing the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry, which only the attorney general has the discretion to publish.

Abela bragged on ONE Television: “When I give my word, I will keep it.”

Yet, evidence continues to show to the contrary. Abela is just a continuation of his disgraced predecessor.

During his campaign to succeed Muscat as leader of the Labour Party, Abela projected himself as the candidate of the status quo, which best suited the egoistic interests of blinkered Labourites and party faithful.

Abela’s loyalty lies to his close allies, canvassers and Labour Party sustainers. He has no scruples against feeding at the public trough. Following his confirmation in office last year,  he burdened the taxpayer with more than an extra €1 million a year by increasing the number of political appointees at his office from 37 to 71.

Abela also backtracked on his decision not to allow government authority heads to carry out private practice, which would have negatively affected several Labourites enjoying lucrative contracts with a six-figure salary.

Abela himself and his wife,  Lydia raked in hundreds of thousands of euros off property development when he was the chief lawyer of the Planning Authority.

In one particular case, they made a profit of €45,000 for a 210 square metre plot that they sold to alleged kidnapper Christian Borg. On the same day that they entered into the deal to buy the plot, the Planning Authority issued the necessary development permit for  Borg to build nine apartments and garages, despite not being connected in any way to the property. Borg had applied for the permit one whole year before he bought the plot from the Abelas for €315,000.

The Planning Authority also sanctioned various illegalities on a villa in Żejtun just five days before it was acquired by the Abelas for an absolute bargain price of €600,000.

Robert and Lydia Abela, who were accredited agents for the golden passport scheme, grabbed the opportunity to rake in more thousands of euros by renting their villa to Russian passport applicants, who had a contractual obligation to lease a property in Malta for a minimum of five years.

However, in reality, a situation of rampant leasing out of phantom property to applicants existed and Abela’s Russian lessees could well have paid up without even stepping inside the villa.

It has been a time of making hay while the sun shines for Abela.

Denis Tanti is a former assistant director at the health ministry.