It is election time and fever is high but that does not excuse the Prime Minister of making an irresponsible statement on the judiciary. It is not there at his service, as he seems to think.
During a televised interview on Xtra, Joseph Muscat was asked a simple question: what will happen if you lose the election and the magisterial inquiry into allegations concerning his wife and the Panama company Egrant gives him a clean bill of health? His reply was ominous. He said it would be the magistrate’s problem, not his, as he would have to bear the responsibility.
Dr Muscat is clearly disappointed that Magistrate Aaron Bugeja may not conclude his inquiry in time for the election. He is convinced he will emerge clean and promises to resign if otherwise. He blames Opposition leader Simon Busuttil for “wasting the magistrate’s time” by going to him with issues unrelated to the Egrant inquiry. Conveniently, he ignores the fact that Dr Busuttil’s submissions to the magistrate have led to two other inquiries involving his chief of staff, Keith Schembri.
Dr Muscat thinks everything centres around him and Egrant and that he has no responsibility for his person of trust who, in the same TV programme, he described as “a man of integrity”.
Dr Busuttil has said the Prime Minister’s comments were a “clear threat” to the independence of the judiciary. The Chamber of Advocates spoke of inappropriate pressure that went beyond all limits of prudence and responsibility.
It will not be the magistrate’s fault if he does not complete his inquiry by June 3. It was Dr Muscat’s calculated choice to instigate the inquiry and then immediately afterwards call a snap election at the earliest possible date. It is incredible and incomprehensible how a prime minister could ever choose to go to the polls when under a magisterial investigation.
He should have stepped aside until the inquiry was complete and then faced the electorate. He claims he put the national interest first and that he could not leave the country in abeyance until the magistrate finished his work. But Dr Muscat went further.
He said that if he lost the election and the inquiry proved him innocent, Dr Busuttil would have on his hands the biggest constitutional crisis ever faced by the country. The reason he gives for that is that the election would have been won by the PN on the basis of a lie and people would not accept a government built upon a lie. Dr Muscat appears to want to undermine a new Nationalist administration before it has even started.
No matter what he may think, people will not be voting at the next election on Egrant only. He may have called the election because of Egrant but voters have many other factors to take into account including, not least, the behaviour of people around Dr Muscat in Castille. There will be no constitutional crisis because the election will not be about Dr Muscat, his wife or Egrant. It will be, above all else, about good governance, about bringing back normality to the country, about saving the financial services sector and, with that, the whole economy.
Dr Muscat thinks the election is just about him. It is not, it is about what he stands for. He comes across as delusional, at a very important junction in the election campaign.