Joseph Muscat on Friday backed the PN's call for Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà to investigate the hospitals' deal, saying he did not trust an ongoing magisterial inquiry.
"The PN is right. I want the Police Commissioner to investigate, and I have total trust in him... from what I understand, the Commissioner himself wants to investigate. The question is: who isn't letting him investigate," the former PL prime minister asked Emanuel Cuschieri on Smash TV.
Fielding questions from Cuschieri, a Muscat loyalist, during his programme Linja Diretta, Muscat claimed magistrate Gabriella Vella, currently leading a magisterial inquiry into the deal, was not letting the commissioner launch his own probe.
"I don't trust the process led by Vella because of the continuous leaks of the inquiry and declarations by her relatives on social media. How can I trust her impartiality?
"I trust the Police Commissioner... A truly independent investigation would show I did nothing wrong," Muscat said.
On October 23, an appeals court declared the hospitals' deal officially null and void. The decision confirms a landmark judgment earlier in the year to cancel contracts related to the deal, on the basis that Steward had not fulfilled its contractual obligations.
The latest judgment implicates Joseph Muscat and his top brass in wrongdoing even more than the original sentence. While the original court decision had pinned the blame for the "fraudulent" deal on Steward, the court of appeal said it also believed there was "collusion between Steward and senior government officials or its agencies".
The following day - on October 24 - Opposition leader Bernard Grech and PN MP Adrian Delia walked into the police headquarters demanding to meet with Gafà to ask him to open an investigation. But they later said Gafà will not investigate the deal until the ongoing magisterial inquiry is concluded.
Then on Wednesday, Grech and Delia filed a judicial protest in court, telling the media they were giving the commissioner, State Advocate and Attorney General a week to take action against those involved in the “fraudulent” deal.
Muscat has already tried to get Magistrate Gabriella Vella to recuse herself from the inquiry over Facebook posts published by her father and brother and activists.
Muscat has even asked for the Police Commissioner to be summoned to testify in a subsequent breach of rights case seeking to remove the magistrate from handling the probe.
On Sunday, Malta Today reported that Labour MPs were fearing the worst from the magisterial inquiry as it may recommend criminal action against Muscat. It said there was a growing realisation within the parliamentary group that any damning conclusions will have serious ramifications for the party and the country.
But on Friday Muscat told Cuschieri he was "serene".
"I did my duty. A just analysis will show that there were good things and other things that could have been done better. That is why I'm serene. I sleep at night.
'Another Egrant from beginning to end'
"I have no doubt this is another Egrant from beginning to end. There are a lot of theories... The aim is to take Muscat to court so as to create instability within the PL and the government. Court will take its time - two to three years - to reach a conclusion, and say it was a mistake. However, the political damage would have been done," he said.
Once claimed to belong to Muscat’s wife Michelle, Egrant was the companion Panama company to those owned by former chief-of-staff Keith Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi. The claim was debunked by an inquiry but the company's owner is still unknown.
On Friday, Muscat said no one spoke about the Egrant "lie" anymore.
"I am determined to fight this even if I'm on my own - although I'm sure I will not be left on my own. I will not burden anyone. I will carry the burden myself and fight. When I [stepped down from my role] as prime minister, I was under no illusion that I would be left in peace.
"There is no doubt that the PN will not forgive me," Muscat said, adding that there were some who had wanted to "crucify" former prime minister Dom Mintoff, he would be happy with being crucified upside down.
"I sleep at night as I know I did nothing wrong. I will keep on fighting," he repeated.
Muscat said he did not want to hinder, or be a burden for the PL: "I'm here to serve the party as a soldier or a sailor. I leave the leadership to the leaders."
He alluded to a group of doctors who he claimed had objected to the privatisation of the hospitals because they were driven by an interest in maintaining the long waiting lists at State hospitals, since it allowed them to cash in by diverting patients to their own private clinics.
During the programme, Muscat said while he respected the court's decision on the hospitals' deal, he believed there was no collusion.
Such "waivers" had been afforded to private companies for years in a bid to come up with some kind of solution and see projects through, he said.
"Our country has a history of such unsuccesful concessions and negotiations," Muscat said, adding this included deals with bus provider Arriva, shipyard group Palumbo, the sale of MidMed to HSBC, the Smart City project and the acquiring of 49% of Lombard Bank - an issue that should be looked into, he warned.
In 2018, 49.01% of the total issued share capital of Lombard Bank were transferred to the National Development and Social Fund by means of an off-exchange transfer at the Malta Stock Exchange.