We’ve heard it all before. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had promised to resign if the new power station in Marsaxlokk were not completed in two years. It never came close to the promised date and, yet, he remained, claiming he had been referring to the utility bills and not the power plant. We know that was not the case.
Dr Muscat now says he won’t be going for a third term, something he said years ago. Generally, heads of government do not do this because it weakens them politically, most especially within the party they lead. Former British premier Tony Blair made that mistake but Dr Muscat is apparently determined. Time will tell.
One can understand why Mr Muscat may want to exit. He has had impressive electoral successes and it is unlikely to get better. Defeat may be difficult to digest after successive wins. Sadly, such reasoning wipes out any sense of service in politics. It makes it sound like an ego trip.
Then there is the issue of legacy. What would Dr Muscat leave behind? Strong economic growth and fast strides in civil rights are on the plus side. Less impressive is the rampant building development that threatens everyone.
The property sector and passport sales are both unsustainable and a collapse of the building industry would leave many casualties behind. That is not a legacy to be proud of. But there is really nothing else, other than what Dr Muscat had already found in 2013 and built upon.
There have been failures too, like the botched American university project and the even more botched hospitals concession deal. The price of those white elephants was not so much the failure itself but the long shadow they cast on the government. Dr Muscat’s government will be remembered for its sleaze.
It is a government that started calling voters its customers. Customer service at government ministries has reached astounding heights and efficiency. It has corrupted politics to its roots and society as well because it has welcomed it. The last election showed how powerful the power of incumbency can be. That is not something to be proud of either because it reeks of corrupt practices.
Governance too has not been a feather in Dr Muscat’s cap. The country has been called a Mafia state and Malta’s international image is unimpressive at best, especially after the murder of journalist/blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia. That too will be his legacy.
It is unclear when Dr Muscat will bow out. Ironically, there will be many who will not want to see him go for reasons he would not like. There are just too many pending questions and dodgy affairs in the country’s governance and it is does not feel right for him to just walk off, like everything was hunky-dory, because it was not. People still want answers.
Many will see his departure as premature. There are numerous questions that have been raised over offshore companies, accounts and government contracts. They do not want him to leave before justice has been served, until the inquiries are completed and the police finally decide to do their job.
No one should be allowed to get away with so much, like an undefeated hero. Politics should never be like that. It used to be called service.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial