Just for one second, imagine you’re going abroad for a holiday break with a group of friends, among them your best friend for many years. Imagine that, upon arriving at your destination, say somewhere in Europe, policemen round up your best friend’s boyfriend, handcuff him and arrest him on the spot.
What would you do? Would you: a) be completely shocked and astounded and, while trying to come to grips with what could have happened, you try and console your distraught best friend and, perhaps, discuss with the rest of the group whether you should cancel the holiday? Or would you: b) just all say “Oh right, arrested, eh? Uijja, we certainly won’t let this little blip dampen our holiday mood… here we come!”
Your answer would be much more interesting if you put it in the context of a real-life incident similar to the mise en scène above.
A fortnight ago, Iosif Galea, a mate of the disgraced European commissioner John Dalli, was arrested by the Italian Guardia Di Finanza as soon as he landed at the airport of Brindisi. Now, Galea has long been a suspect for mafia-linked crimes and for his involvement in information-leaking rackets. But, over and above that, it turns out that, for more than a year, he has had a European arrest warrant issued against him by the German police for tax evasion. Despite this, the Malta police, who seem intent on protecting criminals, time and time again, ostentatiously ignored this arrest warrant and did not act on it and Galea was allowed to travel as it pleased him in and out of Malta… until two weeks ago, when the Italians took the lead.
It so happens that Galea was not travelling solo. He was going on holiday with a group of friends that included the former disgraced prime minister Joseph Muscat and his wife, Michelle. Galea’s girlfriend, Maria Grech, has been a long-time aide and friend of Ms Muscat and her husband. Ah, the long arm of coincidence.
Of course, one tries hard not to be ‘negative’ and think of how birds of a feather flock together and so on so forth but, sometimes, one can’t help it. The fact that Muscat was quite cosy with tycoon Yorgen Fenech, who is now charged with allegedly masterminding the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and that his former chief of staff, Keith Schembri is also undergoing criminal proceedings for money laundering, does not help to keep our, um, positivity on track.
One tries hard not to be ‘negative’ and think of how birds of a feather flock together and so on so forth but, sometimes, one can’t help it- Kristina Chetcuti
As it were, Times of Malta asked Muscat for a comment, seeing as he was hanging out again with an alleged criminal. Muscat came back with the usual indignant how-dare-you undertones: “I am not connected to this case and to indicate to the contrary is not only gratuitous but total baseless sensationalism.” In the next breath, he coldly and calculatedly distanced himself from his family’s best friend and her boyfriend: “We were travelling with a larger group of friends and acquaintances for a short holiday. A few hours after our arrival, we were informed that Mr Galea was being detained. The rest of the group continued with our holiday and returned to Malta a few days later as planned.”
Not even a hint of shock, dismay or worry.
Actually, his reply makes you think that it’s pretty normal for people to go on holiday and one of their friends is handcuffed and arrested and for the rest of the party to continue partying come se non fosse. Why, he almost wanted to add, has such a thing never happened to you? Well, no, but maybe my life is excessively boring, so, please reader, do raise your hands and drop me a line if it has happened to you too.
The fact of the matter is that the more we dissect the anatomy of this scandal, the more foetid the stench. But, for as long as we are blinded to believe that what is utterly absurd is normal, then the Malta police and all the other institutions will happily pretend that all is in order and the rodents will keep running free.
I watched Anatomy of a Scandal, the Netflix series, over the weekend. If you love interior design, beautiful kitchens and to die-for camel coats straight out of Vogue, then this one is not to be missed. But it’s a bit more than aesthetics. It’s a psychological courtroom drama about a British minister committing repeated crimes and all the while convincing himself that he was doing the country a service. It explores the fine line between justice and privilege and it’s a study into how narcissist criminal politicians can believe their own lies and make the people around them believe their thwarted truth.
Now, why does this ring a bell somehow?