Failing to do anything about corruption makes one an accessory. Refusing to accept that corruption exists and is widespread could be the result of denial, incompetence, having a finger in the pie or an accumulation of all three.
Time will, no doubt, tell why Robert Abela keeps trying to give the impression the situation is under control because he “actually created structures to avoid corruption”. To be fair, when he made that declaration to Times of Malta late last year, he did acknowledge too that no government can ever eradicate all forms of wrongdoing.
The Oxford dictionary defines the term wrongdoing as “an act that is wrong, evil, or blameworthy; misdeed; sin”. Corruption is defined as “moral perversion; depravity”.
The way the prime minister puts it can be likened to somebody arguing there is no need to worry about crime simply because there is prison. The people, the huge majority, do not share his views, as evidenced by the findings of a Eurobarometer poll, which found that 92 per cent of respondents think corruption is ‘widespread’ in the country. This represented a 13-percentage point increase over 2022. Businesses operating in Malta also think corruption is widespread, with 76 per cent of respondents saying so, against an average 65 per cent among the EU27.
Abela must be one of those eight per cent living in Malta who either do not have an opinion about corruption or else consider it a ‘rare’ phenomenon. He is possibly ‘blinded’ by corruption that has become so rampant it possibly has already got out of hand.
When the topic of corruption was raised in the interview with Times of Malta last November, Abela immediately adopted his usual line of defence: “I can only answer to what happened from January 2020.”
Even by his own account, he has failed, as the Eurobarometer survey, the European Commission’s 2023 rule of law report and the latest Transparency International corruption index, just to mention three examples, clearly prove.
Abela must be one of those eight per cent living in Malta who either do not have an opinion about corruption or else consider it a ‘rare’ phenomenon
The Eurobarometer study shows that, since October 2017, the proportion of Europeans who think the level of corruption in their country increased grew in 15 countries, “most notably” in Malta and Greece. That, of course, includes the period Abela has been at the helm.
According to Brussels, “challenges related to high-level corruption cases, including the lack of a robust track record of final judgments remain” and the Permanent Commission against Corruption’s ability to reach “tangible results” continue to be low.
Corruption took place under the Nationalist era, it was put on steroids during the Muscat era and has certainly not abated since Abela became prime minister in January 2020. As to his claims that his “structures… avoid corruption”, well, the people think otherwise.
Though more than six of every 10 admitted corruption affected their daily life and know where they need to go to report it, those that do not because they feel unprotected rose by almost a fourth over 2022.
Just under half think it is pointless reporting corruption as the perpetrators will still escape punishment.
Also, Maltese respondents ranked political parties as the area where giving and taking bribes and abusing power for personal gain is the most widespread.
In a country where public officials who indulge in corruption are quietly elbowed out or even kicked upstairs, where the planning authority greenlights the most disgraceful applications, and where an unnamed minister is even implicated in a driving theory test corruption case, it’s no wonder why so many believe corruption is deeply entrenched.