We only got to know that Manuel Mallia’s dri-ver had shot another driver thanks to the media. Maltarightnow uploaded the report at about 9.45pm. Had it not been for the good sense of the videographer of Times of Malta who zoomed in on the bullet holes in the car we would not have had a concrete and definitive proof that the shots were not warning shots.
Had it not been for responsible citizens, journalists with a nose for a good story and a videographer with an eye for detail, we would have been sold the story that this was a routine hit-and-run with a couple of shots ‘in the air’ in an attempt to calm down a drunken and dangerous driver who – horror of horrors – had the temerity to damage his boss’s car (a damaged mirror was described a ‘faqa’ l-karozza tal-Ministru’).
That a cover-up had been framed-up has now been confirmed even by the three retired judges, whose report regurgitated most of the facts that the PN media and the independent media had given us with abundant detail. Let me be kind and just say that the report fails to impress as it is anything but thorough or complete.
Last Wednesday, we were informed in Parliament that another individual has been added to the list of people who think that the report of the three former judges does not provide us with all the truth. In the letter read out in Parliament, former minister Mallia states that there were two people who could confirm that he had nothing to do with the statement issued by the government but they refused to or were not asked to submit evidence.
Besides, a Facebook comment by Paul Vella ‘il-Machine Gun’, one of Mallia’s drivers, wrote: “Everyone who worked in the ministry knows who did this shame.”
Will there be more information pointing towards the partiality of the inquest results? I am not holding my breath.
The report puts the blame squarely on the police and absolves politicians and political appointees from any connections, tenuous however they may be, with the word ‘cover-up’. I will not here repeat comments I made in my blog on timesofmalta.com.
The report confirmed what we had known: the police do take care of their own. Some pertinent questions spring to mind. If some members of the police force found it so easy to try to cover up this mess, should one believe that this is just a one-off or that this cover-up is just one in a series?
If some police officers can cover up things in a jiffy, can we rest our minds that they are not also able to frame up things (and people) in an instant too? When the police had arrested Norman Vella because he had allegedly photographed someone at the airport, this was the conclusion of my commentary:
“If the Malta Police acted capriciously to target an innocent and well-known TV personality, what hope is there for the rest of us if the bully feels we are not towing the line? In your heart of hearts you know that you cannot enjoy as you used to enjoy your peace of mind.”
Those who then thought that I was exaggerating now have a cover/frame-up Take 2 to bring them down to present day reality. But these serious incidents did not happen in a vacuum. They happened under the watch of two police commissioners appointed by the present administration.
It is true that the first commissioner successfully did what he had been appointed to do; but when gaffes became the order of the day, government could not take it any longer and got rid of him at our expense by creating a cushy job for him.
The government then appointed an acting commissioner who has now been demoted to his previous post after the inquest described him as guilty of gross incompetence and lack of professionalism, something he strongly denies.
Whoever was politically responsible for these two appointments, which turned out to be so disappointing not to say disastrous, has a lot to answer for. His lack of judgement has affected the credibility of the police force, and the government by extension, in the most negative way.
After just 20 months of this administration, Malta is now into commissioner number four and police minister number two. The newly minted minister seems to be an affable and decent chap while the new commissioner is known for his effective investigations. Their task is onerous and it will not be easy to regain confidence in the police force.
For our own sake, I wish them luck.
• Many people are seeing a changed-for-the-better Simon Busuttil. He is now asserting himself as the leader of the Nationalist Party much more than he ever did before, they say. They add that his speeches have more punch and that he has become a formidable opponent to the Prime Minister, a characteristicthat cannot be lightly dismissed.
The report confirmed what we had known: the police do take care of their own
There is no doubt that Busuttil has matured into his position as Leader of the Opposition. But the main reason for the positive change in some people’s perception of Busuttil is more the result of the way they changed than the way he changed. For example, Busuttil’s Budget speech last year was good, probably better than this year’s speech although the reaction to this year’s speech – mainly among current and former Nationalist supporters with at least one Labour MP to boot – is more positive now than last year.
This could be an indication that the general mood in the country is changing and that the government’s honeymoon is over. Many people who up to a year ago would have said that Busuttil was being negative, for example, are now more receptive to his message and view it positively as they themselves have become more critical of the government.
Had the shooting incident by Mallia’s driver happened last year, I would bet my bottom euro that it would have gone by as if it were something of little significance. Up till last year, people who voted Labour in the last election were not ready to be critical of the government as this could have been construed as self-criticism. With the passage of time, people could feel that criticising a government they voted for is not tantamount to criticising the way they voted since they could say that after two years the government had changed.
Does that mean the government has lost its majority in the country? I do not think so. But I do think that more and more people are now ready to positively consider the Opposition’s criticism of government when this tallies with their own critical attitudes. The extent to which the Opposition will succeed to do this is a moot point.
joseph.borg@um.edu.mt