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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 NOVEMBER 2019 25 November, 2009 Sadness, relief as ''JusticeGate'' finally draws to a close IN a crowded hall of the Criminal Court in Valletta, Mr Justice Giannini Caruana Demajo yesterday ended years of speculation and un- certainty regarding the fate of Noel Arrigo by finding the former Chief Justice guilty on three separate counts: bribery, trading in influence and revealing official secrets. Sentencing is expected tomorrow, with the law stipulating a prison term of anywhere between six and eight years. Noel Arrigo was arrested in 2002 following a police investigation into allegations that a convicted drug trafficker, Mario Camilleri aka L-Imniehru, had approached through an inter- mediary two of the three judges on the Criminal Court of Appeal – Patrick Vella and the former Chief Justice Arrigo, to have his prison sentenced reduced by four years on appeal. Vella pleaded guilty to the charge of bribery and has already served his two-year sentence in full. Arrigo on other hand entered a plea of not guilty, with his defence counsel, led by Dr Jo- seph Giglio, arguing that the evidence presented against Arrigo did not conclusively prove that the former judge had accepted a bribe. However, in delivering a guilty verdict, Caru- ana Demajo upheld the prosecution's thesis that Arrigo had behaved in a manner unbecoming of the most senior representative of the judiciary – by allowing himself to be so easily approached by persons with ulterior motives; and above all by failing to report the matter to the President of the Republic, as required to by law, when he was approached with a clear offer of money. ... On his part, Chamber of Advocates president Andrew Borg Cardona commented that the legal profession in general was torn between conflict- ing emotions of sadness and relief at yesterday's long-awaited outcome. … Commenting on the wider implications of yesterday's verdict, Borg Cardona reiterated his position, expressed in his annual address to the judiciary earlier this year, in favour of a strength- ening of the Commission for the Administration of Justice. "On one level the judiciary as an institution de- serves the general public's respect," he said. "But at the same time respect also has to be earned, and to this end there has to be a clear-cut system which also holds the judiciary to account. Now would be a good time to address the structures regulating judicial responsibility in the country. The Commission for the Administration of Jus- tice needs to be further strengthened, from an institution which is limited to issuing warnings which (let's face it) can easily be ignored..." MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week Muscat's ever- shrinking options Editorial IT would seem that there has been a significant change in the Prime Minister's line, with regard to the question of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri's political survival, in the last few days. It would seem that, where before, his support for the two beleaguered government officials was unwavering, since Wednesday Joseph Muscat has been more nuanced in his approach. Asked point blank whether he will sack Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi in light of the latest revelations, Mus- cat replied that it was "a consideration to be made after all the facts emerge". This is apparently the first time the Prime Minis- ter appeared to be open to the possibility, depend- ing on what further revelations the investigation will bring. But in reality…. In reality, the situation is even more dire for the Prime Minister than his bite-sized comment about the future of Schembri and Mizzi. The precise circumstances will not need any repeating in detail. This change of heart occurred after the police arrested ex-Tumas Group chairman Yorgen Fenech in connection with the 2017 murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech is the owner of 17 Black, the Dubai company that was listed as a target client of the Panama companies that Schem- bri and Mizzi set up after the 2013 election. He was also a shareholder in Electrogas, the consortium which won the bid to build the new gas-fired power plant in Delimara. Whatever their involvement in the murder itself, Schembri and Mizzi had business links with Yorgen Fenech, the businessman now confirmed to being a "person of interest" in the police investigation. As such there can be no doubt that Mizzi and Schembri have to go. Indeed, they should have been sacked three years ago, when news first surfaced of their secret offshore holdings in the Panama Papers leak. But from this perspective, any decision taken by Joseph Muscat today will be a case of too little, too late. Even if he does remove Keith and Konrad, the political sacrifice will not wash Joseph Muscat clean of the impression of impunity he himself has blessed, when he did not remove them immediately in 2016. For why did he invest himself so much into defending two people who should have never been retained in power, and at the helm of major deci- sions affecting the taxpayer? Even worse, the question that haunts everyone who looked on as the Prime Minister braved the onslaught of Panamagate is: what did Muscat know all along? What comfort did he derive from the knowledge of the dealings that Schembri and Mizzi had set up, possibly with Fenech, that should have allowed him to keep his two men onboard? Did he even challenge these two persons into learning everything about what they were concocting? Why did he throw their fates to the justice system and allow due process to take place, with proper police investigations resolving both the Panama Papers affairs and the 17 Black mystery? Muscat may be weighing his options carefully at this point, but he cannot escape the wave of resent- ment building up over the consequences brought on the country by the shadow of Panamagate and the disastrous, and the murderous aftermath it seemed to have provoked. With Fenech now con- sidered as a person of interest in this investigation, Muscat's political inaction leaves him with very little room to manoeuvre today. He faces three basic choices: to either maintain the status quo for as long as possible; to belatedly sack Mizzi and Schembri, or to resign himself. The first option would only mount further pres- sure on the Prime Minister to be seen to be taking action. This, in turn, will heighten frustrations, leading to possible repeat occurrences of the justi- fied anger and embarrassing fracas witnessed last Wednesday. At this late stage, it would also mean that Muscat is still wilfully distorting the difference between legal culpability and political responsibility. Legally, his caution may even be warranted. In strictly con- crete terms, no evidence has been forthcoming of any direct link between 17 Black and the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination. But politically, his continued defence of Mizzi and Schembri has now clearly gone beyond the threshold of acceptability. Even just for political reasons – to safeguard the reputation of the Labour government, and Malta as a whole – resignations would have been in order long before this pass. By procrastinating on the inevitable, Muscat is only weakening his own legacy as prime minister. For reasons already outlined, removing Mizzi and Schembri today will not excuse Muscat's past errors. And once he does, Muscat would be indi- rectly admitting that he should have taken this step before. That, in itself, amounts to a serious political blunder that will almost certainly result in further calls for his own resignation. As for the question of his own resignation: Mus- cat has made it abundantly clear that he will not step down of his own accord. And politically, this is likely to strengthen his position rather than weaken it. The Prime Minister knows full well that his legacy will be sealed by the investigation of Caruana Galizia's murder. Therefore, it is in his interest that the case is resolved while he is still at the helm of the Labour Party. Moreover, calls from Repubblika and Simon Busuttil for him to resign from Prime Minister may have the effect of strengthening him internally, forcing internal critics to close ranks despite their reservations on Schembri and Mizzi. For while civil society has every right to protest, the tactic of depicting Joseph Muscat as politically embroiled in the murder – while more understandable, in the case of Mizzi and Schembri – is unlikely to con- vince the wider electorate that still supports the government in spite of any misgivings. Muscat can argue that it is in the national inter- est for him to live up to his responsibilities as prime minister, and avoid any circumstance that may lead to instability. One other available route is to call an early elec- tion: for the second time in his brief career. The temptation will no doubt be strong, given that re- cent polls continue to suggest a wide Labour lead. But an election will not resolve the core issue at stake: which is, was and always has been justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia. "He wants to give us the impression that he is the police commissioner, the Attorney General... yet he is not taking the most obvious decision of removing them [Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi] from government." PN leader Adrian Delia on Joseph Muscat