The Court of Appeal on Monday ended, once and for all, the scandalous Vitals/Steward deal. It confirmed the damning judgment delivered by the First Court earlier this year, on a case instituted in 2018 by Adrian Delia, then Leader of the Opposition, and went beyond by stating that the government acted in collusion with the appellants (Vitals and Steward ) to defraud the public.

The Court of Appeal did not mince its words. The chief justice said that, for reasons that are not known, those who were meant to protect the interest of the nation sought to protect the interests of Vitals and Steward.

This judgment is one of the most, if not the most damning, judgments on the government since Independence. It is a landmark judgment for all the wrong reasons as far as the government is concerned.

The Courts of Justice, one of the three pillars of our democratic system, found that government officials acted against the public interest and plotted to defraud the people. There must be repercussions.

The Nationalist Party on Monday presented a motion calling on the government to initiate proceedings to recoup the hundreds of millions of euros that were given to Vitals and Steward. Prime Minister Robert Abela informed parliament that this route is already being pursued through an ongoing arbitration case.

As far as I am aware, that arbitration case is about the termination of the contract brought about by the parties following the first decision of the court. When the government, way back in April, informed the public about this arbitration case it gave no details, quoting confidentiality reasons. If the government is indeed seeking to recoup the monies that were literally thrown down the drain, then it should inform the public what its demands are, including the damages being sought.

But the issue cannot stop there. There are other steps that need and should be taken in the short run. For starters, the court defined the government as a co-conspirator in the fraud and decreed that, as a chief perpetrator, it must, therefore, share the legal costs.

Those costs cannot come out of public funds. The government officials responsible for this fraudulent deal must pay the damages out of their own pockets. We cannot have a situation where the victim (the people) is made to pay for the perpetrator. That would be definitely a case of rubbing salt in the wound.

Secondly, all officials, elected or not, implicated in this deal, should resign from public office.

All such officials, from Edward Scicluna, then minister for finance today Governor of the Central Bank, to Ronald Mizzi, who was Konrad Mizzi’s permanent secretary today permanent secretary to the ministry for the economy, European funds and lands, should each immediately resign from any office they still hold with the government or its institutions, or be fired.

All officials, elected or not, implicated in this deal should resign from public office- Mario de Marco

Thirdly, Joseph Muscat should be stripped of his national honour. He is not deserving of being a companion of honour. He is the chief architect of a monstrous deal that defrauded the very people he was meant to serve.

There is, of course, the question of criminal responsibility. The Court of Appeal did not enter into these merits since they are not within its competence. It limited itself to saying that the collusion happened for reasons unknown. Why are they unknown? Because the police force is abdicating from its duties to properly investigate the largest heist in Malta’s history.

This is a classic case of public corruption, with secret bank accounts, underhanded deals, meetings behind closed doors, trading in influence and, yet, our police commissioner has not found the time or fortitude to arraign one person. No wonder people are fast losing faith in public institutions.

The Court of Justice did its part without fear or favour. One expects the police to do nothing else.

I am not asking for a pound of flesh. I am asking for the obvious. I am expecting things to follow the normal route. But this is not a normal country. With Labour at the helm, we can never be a normal country. We are led by crooks who have no interest in justice being served. Their sole aim is to retain power at all costs and avoid jail for themselves and their friends.

The failure of our institutions (other than the courts), particularly the police commissioner and the attorney general, to do their duty is creating an existential threat to democracy in Malta. Once again, Malta is burning. Maybe not the buildings, but our soul, our values, and our democracy are being reduced to cinders.

Abela’s speech in parliament on Monday evening, delivered on the day when the Court of Appeal condemned his government, destroyed any hope for positive change.

Mario de Marco

Instead of humbly asking for forgiveness, he arrogantly promised to plough ahead as if nothing happened.

Applauded by his front and back bench, just like Muscat had done before him, he positioned himself as beyond reproach despite the court’s denouncement.

Mario de Marco is the Nationalist Party spokesperson on tourism.