Before he was elected leader of the Labour Party I had only met Robert Abela once. It was sometime in late 2017.

As had been happening for the previous two years or so, together with many other individuals and NGO representatives, I was attending a meeting of the parliamentary committee on the environment.

During the 2013-2017 legislature, we had been used to attending this committee in force, not only to listen to what was happening but to actively participate in the debate, put relevant questions to the persons concerned – such as in the Paceville masterplan discussion – and give our opinions on the matters being discussed.

Love her or hate her, the president of this committee, Marlene Farrugia, had turned this committee into a veritable forum of serious discussion, a boiling cauldron of bubbling ideas coming not only from the authorities’ side, but mainly from the representatives of civil society.

Come election 2017 and the presidency changed from Farrugia to Alex Muscat. And what a change it was!

At the beginning of this meeting, this new president was just wasting time on stupid formalities, with the only intention of delaying the debate.

And then, around 15 minutes after the committee had been scheduled, Abela made his great entree. And then started all the pseudo-legalistic nonsense which had as its only aim that of preventing the members of civil society present from expressing themselves freely and openly. 

Most of the session was spent with Abela citing regulation so and so or standing order this or that, with the only specific aim of stopping us from participating in the debate. And he really managed to stifle all attempts at discussion on our part with his empty rhetoric.

At the end, I could not take it any longer. I went up to him and just told him to his face: “Dr Abela, tittrattax in-nies ta’ żibel. Titmejjilx bina”. The man feigned a look of astonishment on his face and replied: “Dr Cassola, why are you telling me that?”

We have gone from three to over 200 local cases in 20 days

Seven months into his premiership and I can now confirm that his behaviour was not a flash in the pan.

He just thinks he can con people at leisure as he did when he wanted to impress us all with his supposed authority, when he ‘ordered’ the Vitals MOU to be ‘abracadabra’ found by midnight.

The farcical behaviour of a political leader without substance. And what about his pathetic rhetoric on COVID-19 in the past months?

March: Abela said that the coronavirus is not as deadly a disease – “Din mhix il-pesta”.

April: “I want the Maltese to enjoy their summer”.

May: “I heard a lot of things about second wave this and second wave that. Waves are in the sea.”

May: “The best thing people can do right now is go to the sea and enjoy themselves.”

May: “From right now (tell the tourists that) as a country we have defeated COVID”.

July: “We have won the war”.

July: “We know what we are doing”.

July: “We will remain open for business”.

August: “Everything under control”.

The end result?

We have gone from three to over 200 local cases in 20 days.

I shudder to think where the antics of this arrogant and presumptuous man might lead us in the near future.

Arnold Cassola, former secretary general of the European Green Party