A sincere apology implies a genuine recognition of any pain that has been caused and a true resolution to right wrongs.
The pressure is growing on Labour to do some proper soul searching and to confess to the sins hatched by Keith Schembri and friends.
Speak to many loyal Labour supporters, especially those who contributed towards regenerating the party, through their voluntary work and sacrifice, and they will tell you they cannot believe the scale of scandals emerging almost daily.
When a Labour veteran like President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca declares publicly that Labour owes the country and its supporters an apology, it is a sure sign that the elastic limit is stretched to breaking point.
Last week, she told MaltaToday that Labour must establish what it stands for, whether it is “simply power-hungry and merely directed by surveys rather than by political, social and moral values”. Former Labour MP Maria Camilleri was another who called on the party to apologise after the recent scandals.
Labour stalwart Desmond Zammit Marmarà went further, imploring the prime minister to overrule Labour hardcore supporters who still refuse to criticise what happened on Joseph Muscat’s watch. He warned that the future of Malta and of the Labour Party is at stake.
“Today, all objective people realise that, while the former government was highly successful in the economic sphere and simultaneously introduced a multitude of social measures, it failed miserably in good governance and the fight against corruption,” he said.
It is imperative, Zammit Marmarà insists, that the people know the extent of political involvement in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination as well as in other crimes related to corruption and even in the attempted 2010 HSBC heist. These events will remain a millstone around Robert Abela’s neck until the police come up with conclusive evidence, he fears.
The apology that Labour deputy leader Daniel Micallef casually tossed onto the table as something the party has “no problem” in making, is definitely not enough for those who represent the conscience of the party.
Those who are angry are daring to raise their voices louder. As the next can of worms is opened, and the next, the situation could well get of hand and, as Zammit Marmarà warns, there could be a risk of destabilisation.
Abela must summon the courage to purge the party of those elements which led it into this dark alley. The nefarious doings of Muscat and Schembri are still embedded deep in Labour’s soul.
Rather than dismissing the pair as no longer part of the administration, the only route to redemption for Labour is to face its demons and denounce them for what they have been exposed to be.
That’s not an election-winning strategy. But with Labour still enjoying a very comfortable cushion of public support, Abela could probably afford to do this and save his party more pain in the long term.
He must at some point publicly acknowledge that the pair let the party and country down, and determine to make amends.
Denial cannot last forever.
German chancellor Angela Merkel recently issued a personal apology to the nation as she performed a U-turn on plans to put Germany under a hard lockdown over Easter following a critical backlash. She won plaudits all over for that apology because it came across as honest.
Sorry might be the hardest word but what comes next would be even harder: clearing up the mess left by Abela’s predecessor once and for all, and restoring the reputation and respect of Labour and Malta.