The Nationalist Party leader may have been tempted. Simon Busuttil could have just shut up when he received an SMS from the db Group CEO asking the party to return the funds the company had donated to it. Dr Busuttil could have kept mum and not tell everyone what had happened. He could have sought some arrangement with the donor but that would have meant he would have had to ease or stop his criticism of the controversial way the db Group had obtained the ITS land in St George’s Bay. He did not do that. He came out guns blazing and opened a can of worms.
The db Group did not hold back its punches. It claimed to be paying the salaries of the PN general secretary and CEO, it said it had never asked for any favours from the party and stressed the funds had always been requested and never “donated”.
As the situation escalated, more details emerged with the company claiming, without a sense of shame, it had donated to the PN €70,800 through its media company. The Labour Party media went further and said the db Group had donated a total of about €500,000 to the PN.
Dr Busuttil meanwhile asked the Auditor General to investigate the ITS land deal. By then, it was clear where the loyalties of the db Group lay.
The incident caused an earthquake because it exposed to the bare bone the close links between political parties and big business.
That db Group wants the money back because the PN is crying foul on the ITS deal does not reflect well upon the company. Rather, it raises questions on why it had recruited PN deputy leader Mario de Marco’s legal firm to assist it, why it had given money to the PN and, more importantly, whether it has given anything to Labour in government and, if so, what.
Dr Busuttil simply said he will not be bought off by donations. It was a firm statement that ticks the right boxes for someone promising good governance. Unfortunately, how he got into this whole mess in the first place and how he allowed his party to be exposed to potential blackmail, is still not clear.
His setting up a commission led by respected human rights lawyer Giovanni Bonello to come up with proposals on political party financing was the right move. Such an incident cannot be allowed to happen again.
No company should be in a position to ask a political party to hand back monies it donated. It is no understatement to say that such a request by db Group, when the country is edging close to an election, constitutes a threat to democracy itself.
It is unacceptable that a single company can attempt to cripple a political party financially to the point it cannot run a credible election campaign.
We do not know, and most likely never will, how many other companies play this game and what leverage they have on the political parties. Once, it was the PN that was accused of being the buddy of big business. Under Joseph Muscat, his so-called socialist party seems be getting along better with big business now.
It means the major political parties are ostensibly dependent on donations by big business, which can pull the plug should a party step out of line. That cannot be allowed to happen in a democracy and the only way ahead is State party financing, with real controls.