He won by a landslide historic victory in 2013 securing a majority of no less than 36,000 votes. The colossal majority shook the country to the core either in disbelief or in worship. Analysts predicted he would be firmly rooted for 10 or 15 years. He swept into power as if the Auberge de Castille were Tinseltown and defiantly walked up those iconic steps with a then nine-seat majority.
He seemed to be invincible, earning a reputation as a Teflon man as he proceeded to establish his seat of power. Unsullied by any known skeletons lurking in rotting government cupboards, his style of management seemed to mirror the Mediterranean sun as one glowing press conference after the other reflected the achievements not of the present but of the previous administration.
The country’s executive went on autopilot as its top brass partied long and hard under the watchful eye of their leader. He grew bolder, brassier, fearless of the Opposition. And time passed, maybe too quickly for his liking, and with time some cracks started appearing in the veneer.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat.
There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Muscat won the last general election with the support of the thinking (floating) voters and Nationalist Party supporters who felt disgruntled and felt that a change was as good as a rest. In the electoral campaign Muscat played the field with this core of voters to near perfection. He smooth-talked them into trusting him and together with his spouse, brought a sparkle to the role of Labour leader that had been absent for some time.
And yet at the turn of his three-year anniversary in office, the country is once again stunned and gawping in disbelief. Everywhere you turn, the chatter, audible or not, is about the greatest political scandal ever to hit this rock.
Whichever way you swirl or twirl it, the naked truth is that no one believes that the secret trusts opened in a fiscally censored country by a Cabinet minister and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff after their taking up office, were meant to receive their monthly government salaries.
The Prime Minister’s trust rating plummeted uncontrollably as he not only failed to ask for the resignation of these gentlemen but actually, pathetically attempted to defend them. Muscat’s handling of this scandal has raised a number of serious questions which have so far gone unanswered.
The longer the Prime Minister keeps us in this stinking hole, the longer this country will take to return to its former self
Let us hypothetically assume that Muscat’s pledges of good governance and zero tolerance to corruption were mere electoral stunts which 36,0000 voters and many more fell for. In this sense, Muscat no longer feels responsible to respond to public outrage by demanding the resignation of two of his closest colleagues and aides.
In this scenario, one would imagine that with the increasing strain of the pressure valve, he would conjure up something piecemeal to placate the frenzy and try and recoup approval from the fast-disappearing supporters in the 36,000 cohort. And yet, strangely enough, he has not done this.
The firewalls have been set up, the journalists are no longer compatriots of ours and a leading Cabinet minister seems to have gone AWOL.
Quite frankly, it all stinks. The longer the Prime Minister keeps us in this stinking hole, the longer this country will take to recover from this and other Labour-promised earthquakes and return to its former self.
It all started with little premier gaffes (apologies for the intended puns) which 36,000 voters reluctantly pardoned as ‘teething problems’ but quickly, too quickly, evolved into a corrupt, scandalous affair the likes of which should bring down not just a Cabinet minister but an entire government.
And yet, life goes on in this crazy reality of ours whereby the normal seems to have been replaced with the exceptional and unorthodox.
Presently, Muscat’s strategy is an unmistakeable diversion tactic – hit the Opposition as strongly as possible inthe hope that truths, responsibilitiesand obligations are lost in the mud-slinging exercise.
Ever the cunning master of strategy, our Prime Minister is at it again. This he knows will infallibly work with his sycophants.
As for the 36,000, I trust that he is counting down...
Caroline Galea is a PN candidate for the general election on the fourth district.