Former parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon has a colourful way of expressing himself, even during an adjournment speech in Parliament just before Christmas. That does not excuse him for what he said, or, more precisely, for attacking yet again the constitutional office of the Auditor General.

Dr Falzon has been launching vitriolic attacks on the National Audit Office ever since a report led to his resignation from parliamentary secretary over the Gaffarena expropriation deal. It was obvious to everyone, but himself, that he had to go.

He started his address saying it was expected of him to speak on the latest NAO reports but it turns out he is actually the least qualified because of his astounding prejudice.

In this latest assault, this time concerning two reports on the transfer of properties in Valletta and Qormi under the previous administration, he spoke of NAO officials following a political agenda, of applying double standards and of obscenely timing the release of the reports during Christmas to cause the least political damage. Calling the NAO officials “gods” and “political executioners” that used Nazi tactics, the former junior minister, oblivious to the irony, then went on to use their very reports to lambast the Nationalist Party.

It is not the first time this has happened and it is disgraceful he is allowed to do this inside the very Parliament that unanimously appointed the Auditor General some months ago. The National Audit Office replied, saying its only interest was to serve Parliament and that its reports were based on a totally independent and objective analysis of facts and information at its disposal.

Dr Falzon appears to be caught up in a time warp. The country has moved on since his removal and replacement, the Land Department at the centre of the Gaffarena scandal is being reorganised and the former junior minister has even been handpicked for a €50,000 job with the Grand Harbour Regeneration Project. And, yet, he rattles on about wanting to see justice done.

Nothing appears to have changed since that day the Prime Minister called in the press to announce Dr Falzon’s resignation. Evidently taking it personal, Dr Falzon had said at the time there were some people that were now “pleased with their pound of fresh”. He has never accepted the report that led to his departure and has been criticising the Auditor General ever since.

When asked whether the Office of the Prime Minister condoned the latest attacks on the Auditor General by Dr Falzon, a spokesman took umbrage with this newspaper on the manner in which it reported the National Audit Office’s reports. The spokesman went on to draw parallels between Dr Falzon’s departure and the two recent reports on cases that took place when National MP Jason Azzopardi was minister responsible for land. “Dr Azzopardi should be taking a few lessons from the way Dr Falzon acted when he resigned despite his strong reservations,” the spokesman said.

In other words, the Office of the Prime Minister has nothing to say on its backbencher’s continued assault on the Auditor General. The Prime Minister has not bothered to protect this vital constitutional body, neither in public and nor, apparently, in private, by reining in Dr Falzon.

It is incredible that such a situation is allowed to persist. The utter disdain being shown by a government MP towards the National Audit Office and the indifference of the very Office of the Prime Minister point, once again, to this government’s Achilles’ heel: good governance.

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