The unusual and unexpected snap election the Prime Minister decided to call on May 1 attracted world attention. It was unusual because a prime minister does not normally announce such an important national event during a partisan meeting. It is unexpected because Malta will continue to preside over the European Council till the end of June.

Joseph Muscat could have presented another national budget in about five months’ time and, therefore, he would have had the opportunity to positively evaluate four-and-a-half years of his tenure and announce further benefits to the country based on the progress made in the economy.

There must be grounds for deciding to forfeit such political advantages and risk facing a new verdict by the electorate. There is much speculation about the underlying motives and there are many diverse opinions regarding this momentous decision, mainly prompted by political bias. However, the independent-minded and those not blinded by prejudice of any sort have concluded there is only one possible reason.

Sensing corruption at the highest quarters, world newspapers splashed the reason for this unusual and unexpected early election on their front pages: they contend that the Prime Minister had to call an early election because he and his family are facing allegations linking them to a corruption scandal.

Malta is also being mentioned as a tax haven where money laundering prevails. A few people entrusted with the task of working for the well-being of the country have, instead, abused the people’s confidence and allegedly indulged in corrupt practices with the consequence that the whole country is being labelled as corrupt and repercussions are already felt in the financial services sector. Hiscox, a world renowned insurer, has chosen Luxembourg instead of Malta as it is a more respected financial regulator.

More than that, Transparency International has downgraded Malta owing to the extent of corrupt allegations hitting the highest levels of government; our ranking used to compare well with the most industrialised and advanced economies. Now, we have lost not only the ranking but also the respect of potential investors because we are closer to the most corrupt countries of the world.

Clearly, Muscat and his government have lost all credibility not only locally but also on the world stage.

Credibility was appropriately defined by The Guardian in its editorial of May 9: “Credibility is one of those indispensable political qualities that barely rates a mention when it is there. Yet, when it is missing, nothing else matters as much.”

Joseph Muscat appears to be forgetting that not all the Maltese are fools

It seems the Prime Minister imagined the Maltese people are not aware of what the world’s newspapers say.

Equally, he hopes the advantageous polls he has enjoyed throughout his tenure will help him weather the storm and, thus, serve to prove he and his confidants are not corrupt because they have the approval of the people.

Another possible reason is that an electoral win will help him avoid the Opposition’s threats of legal action against him and his friends who are also accused of corruption.

He has already succeeded in getting parliamentary support for his favourite minister. Perhaps at the time his Cabinet and MPs were not fully aware of the extent of corruption even though the act of opening a secret company is in itself enough to make a minister resign. But now they should know better and it is quite surprising that they prefer to be accomplices in what is being alleged.

Nevertheless, the wily Prime Minister is not leaving anything to chance. He is making many promises to dazzle all sectors of the population.

This strategy has a two objectives: first, he wants to make the people feel he will be wrapping them in cotton wool and, so, the electorate would reward him with another term. Secondly, he wants to force the Opposition into making similar promises and, thus, divert its attention from the allegations of corruption and sleaze and the mess in which his administration got em-broiled in over the last four years.

Muscat appears to be forgetting that not all the Maltese are fools and that they can see through his ultimate goals. They can see his attempts to impress the population by giving them peanuts so his close circle may keep on making millions.

Hopefully, the majority of the electorate are aware his past record of keeping his own promises is not good.

So, what guarantee do they have that he will keep them in the future?

He has no regard for anybody except his greedy and selfish accessories; all the rest of the people can be deployed to sanction his power as Godfrey Farrugia has declared in his resignation letter.

Finally, the world press is watching our country. Will the majority of the people approve corruption? Shall we be regarded as a corrupt nation? Or will Malta prove that it is not corrupt?

The world is watching. It is up to us to show them that we are an honest and trustworthy nation.

Manuel Borda is an economist and a former Nationalist MP.