I have always marvelled at the way politicians from the Nationalist Party almost always manage to turn a situation on its head, so much so that sometimes it almost seems as if they have created a parallel reality. In this surreal world, lies become truth, instigators morph into heroes, and perpetrators are reduced to victims.
That in this endeavour the PN is helped along copiously by certain sections of the media is well known. However, when it comes to the politicians themselves, I am still unsure how they manage it.
Are they all very good actors? If this is the case, then they should definitely set up a troupe and try their luck in Broadway.
Another possibility is that they are so in love with their own image, so full of their self-importance, that they are truly convinced that they must be right and others must be wrong. That would explain how they succeed in making the most ludicrous statements while keeping a straight face, or in looking genuinely affronted when a journalist dares to ask pertinent questions.
Let us take a cursory glance at the way the Nationalists handled their own scandals when in government. I will not go as far back as the outrageous purchase of Dar Malta, with its commissions and shady deals, some of which have resurfaced recently in court. I will instead stick to just one of the scandals which plagued the past legislature: the Delimara power station extension.
A Labour government implemented important laws in favour of transparency
Laws were changed to operate the Delimara power station with one of the most pollutant fuels on the market – one used mostly by Third World countries. They were also changed at the last minute, so that other bidders did not have time to submit their offers. Both the Auditor General and the European Commission concluded in no uncertain terms that the awarding of the building extension to BWSC was highly suspect.
What political responsibility was shouldered? Which minister resigned? A Nationalist government hardly batted an eyelid at these serious allegations. Although corruption was as plain as the nose on their face, all those involved kept denying any wrongdoing while assuming doleful expressions.
Instead, they turned their guns on the Labour Opposition, accusing it of “a deceiving campaign against the welfare of the Maltese people”. Yes, that is exactly how Tonio Fenech had described the Labour’s questions on the matter. To add insult to injury, Fenech made this statement during a conference following the auditor’s damning report.
The PN government was involved in a shady deal – opting for a highly pollutant fuel after a policy u-turn – and yet none of those involved were to blame, and there was no wrongdoing whatsoever. It was the Labour Party that was conducting a deceiving campaign and endangering the welfare of the people. Such a storyline is deserving of a Kafka novel.
In contrast, during the present administration, political responsibility is being shouldered. For the first time since all those in the PN parliamentary group can remember, we witnessed resignations, both in the case of Manuel Mallia and that of Michael Falzon, even if they were not directly involved in their respective cases.
Moreover, a Labour government implemented important laws in favour of transparency; laws that a Nationalist government refused even to discuss in Parliament, and with good reason.
Yet, somehow, the PN manages to lift its finger in accusation at the current government, with allegations of “institutionalised corruption”. What a cheek!
Sadly, however, this description falls short of encompassing the extent of their arrogance. Fortunately, in Maltese we can boast of a wider variety of expressions involving the cheek, some cruder than others, but also more apt.
Etienne Grech is a Labour MP.