When our Prime Minister went to the European Parliament to defend his government’s case on the question of ‘rule of law’ in our country, which was the subject of a debate instigated by the Nationalist Party and their colleagues in the EPP, Joseph Muscat was defending Malta’s name and not just the Labour government’s.
During that debate, attended by around 30 MEPs from a total complement of 751, what stood out so shockingly was the personal attack on Muscat made by the PN MEPs, particularly David Casa. Besides, of course, the attack by Werner Langen, a very close friend and colleague of Simon Busuttil and the PN in the EPP, who also happens to head the Pana committee investigating the Panama Papers revelations.
The PN MEPs’ ferocious and disloyal attack on Muscat brought in its wake a tsunami of harsh counter-attacks here in Malta. They were accused of being “traitors”, among other colourful adjectives. The PN and its MEPs, as well as their apologists in the media, reacted by arguing that criticising Muscat and his government does not mean criticising Malta. Wrong!
The PN MEPs’ ferocious and disloyal attack on Joseph Muscat brought in its wake a tsunami of harsh counter-attacks here in Malta
When the leader of the PN, PN MEPs or its officials accuse the Prime Minister and the PL government of “corruption” without providing any concrete evidence, or say that the government and the Prime Minister are closing their eyes to tax evasion and money-laundering, they are actually saying that Malta’s tax regime is akin to that of other foreign offshore jurisdictions, such as Panama and the BVI.
When PN MEPs or the PN leadership use European institutions, or even foreign media, to attack our Prime Minister, as they have done during the European Parliament debate, they are not just attacking Muscat. They attacked the Prime Minister of Malta, who happens to be their own prime minister too.
In the eyes of all foreign countries, the Prime Minister of Malta represents our country, not himself, irrespective of what David Casa, Roberta Metsola, Therese Comodini Cachia, Simon Busuttil or Beppe Fenech Adami may think.
Take the case of Panama , for example. People around the world have been used for decades to associate Panama – and not any particular Panamanian government – with money-laundering, tax evasion and other illegal or illicit acts. Even if there has never been any law prohibiting the opening of companies in foreign offshore jurisdictions.
Many have used facilities offered by such jurisdictions in a totally legal way. So when such accusations as the breakdown of the rule of law, as have been made during the last few years by PN exponents, especially in European and international fora, then foreign entrepreneurs, business people, investors and the public, can only start to associate our country with corruption, tax-evasion, money-laundering and other illegal acts as they do with other offshore jurisdictions.
If Malta’s name in the financial services world is not protected and preserved by all our politicians of whatever hue, as well as our media, we would only be allowing our foreign competitors, especially European ones, to undermine and finally destroy our competitive tax regime with enormous negative consequences to our financial and economic well-being, irrespective of which party happens to be in government.
In other words, if the PN MEPs and the new PN leadership, continue on the same road they had taken during the last legislature, they would only be cutting their noses to spite their faces.
And the Maltese and Gozitan electorate, will, once again, show them what they think of them come 2022.
Eddy Privitera is a Labour activist.