Last month, the car used by Michelle Muscat required repairs. The Maltese government swiftly rented a car for one week to ensure the former prime minister’s wife wasn’t left stranded. Meanwhile, the state-funded car for her use, a black Range Rover Discovery, was repaired.
The week’s substitute car rental cost the state almost €300. That’s on top of the regular running and repair costs for the luxury Range Rover Michelle uses. We pay for all of it.
No spouse of any former prime minister was afforded a car for her use. Kate Gonzi never got one. Neither did Mary Fenech Adami. Nor did Moira Mintoff.
Joseph Muscat, like other former prime ministers, has a car funded by the state at his disposal to which he’s fully entitled. But why are we paying for Michelle’s car too?
That’s a question that’s unlikely to get answered by current Prime Minister Robert Abela. Abela was Muscat’s consultant. He owes his position to Muscat. More specifically to Michelle Muscat who actively campaigned for Abela to become leader. So much we know from her husband who admitted in an interview: “The truth is Michelle did speak with some people and expressed the fact she favoured Robert Abela.”
It turned out Michelle didn’t just “speak to some people”. She personally ran a full-scale campaign, sending messages to Labour Party members to vote for Abela. Party officials close to Muscat worked tirelessly for Abela to win. A newspaper commented that Abela’s landslide victory over Chris Fearne was, at least in part, thanks to Michelle.
When the Range Rover Discovery used by Michelle was photographed parked illegally at The Meeting Place, Marsa, in a car space reserved for individuals with disability, local media described the car as her “private car”. It turns out the vehicle was not her private car at all. It was provided by the state for her use.
Michelle denied any responsibility for the offence, claiming she wasn’t driving at the time. Michelle was the only person seen leaving the vehicle. She denied this but claimed that “I have asked the person driving not to repeat this”.
When asked who the person driving was, Michelle claimed she didn’t know since she couldn’t tell when the photograph was taken. Of course, the car only got there once. She must have known who drove her there, if she didn’t drive herself. Michelle’s version is hard to believe. But so was her 14km charity swim around the ‘tail end’ of Malta in almost world record time in July 2019. Her doting husband Joseph tweeted “15km of Malta deep waters in force 5 wind to raise funds. Well done Michelle Muscat - JM”.
Back to her car parked in a disabled parking bay, Michelle stated: “Since various persons drive the car, I’ve informed all of them.” Who are all these people driving Michelle’s car – or, rather, the car we fund for Michelle’s use? Hopefully, they’re not all personal drivers paid by us too.
Abela cannot keep hiding. It’s bad enough that he’s handed Muscat €120,000 in termination benefits he shouldn’t have been entitled to. It’s even worse that he’s allowed Muscat to use government offices in Sa Maison, specifically refurbished at the taxpayers’ cost for his private use. But it’s entirely unacceptable that we’re also funding a Range Rover for Michelle.
Joseph Muscat’s severance package is embarrassingly obscene- Kevin Cassar
Abela has long been taking us for fools. The OPM refused, not one, but two Freedom of Information requests made by The Shift about Muscat’s suspicious “golden handshake”. Not only did the OPM refuse to provide information but insisted it has “no documents” related to the €120,000 payment. Muscat was paid almost twice what Lawrence Gonzi received. Gonzi received €73,000 after almost 10 years as prime minister. Muscat was gifted €120,000 for just six years in office.
No wonder Abela refuses to reply to questions about Muscat and the stinking secret deal he struck with him.
The Shift revealed that the terminal benefits scheme was amended twice by Muscat’s cabinet in 2018 and 2019. It seems the only changes made were in the terminal benefits for Muscat himself. Nothing else changed.
Does anybody believe Abela that €120,000 were paid to Muscat with no documentation, no record? If that’s true, Abela has serious governance issues. If he squanders €120,000 of our money and doesn’t bother to keep a record, he’s not fit to lead a small department, let alone the country’s government.
But the €120,000 is not all. Muscat is using government offices in Sa Maison for his personal private work. Muscat isn’t paying any rent for it. Economy Minister Silvio Schembri, responsible for the Lands Authority, was asked in parliament to provide a copy of the lease contract and the terms given by Lands Authority to Muscat. The minister’s reply was “a reply will be given in another parliamentary session”. That was in June 2022. We still don’t have an answer.
All we know is that use of the office was part of Muscat’s severance package – that information was given by Abela in February 2022. It directly contradicts Abela’s claim that there are “no documents”.
Is the additional car for Michelle’s use also part of that secret deal?
When challenged about Muscat’s severance package, Abela bluffed that “details had already been given”. In fact, Abela keeps it top secret, rebuffing all questions.
That’s no surprise. The only reason Abela keeps hiding the truth and inventing excuses for withholding information is that Muscat’s package is embarrassingly obscene: €120,000 in cash, use of fully equipped exclusive sea-view offices in Sa Maison. And use of a second car for his wife, Michelle.
Abela cannot afford to publish that severance package. He’s being held to ransom by Joseph and Michelle.
Abela, that’s not your money you’re squandering. It’s ours. And we have every right to know how you’re wasting it. This is Europe not Azerbaijan.
Kevin Cassar is a professor of surgery.