Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1188660
28.11.19 9 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST: MASSIMO COSTA BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 THE political situation in the coun- try cannot be ignored. is is not a minor issue which will go away. At the heart of government we have a serious situation which is unprecedented in our recent history. We are not talking here of allegations related only to corruption but of those closest to the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat embroiled in inves- tigations related to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. e PM's chief of staff Keith Schem- bri, that is, who has since resigned. A resignation that should have taken place when in 2016 it was revealed that he was the owner of a Panama- nian account. e situation has put the prime minister in a very difficult position. His position has been described as untenable by many. But there is a flip side to this argument. ere is a very serious problem when it comes to stability and tran- sition of power for a new prime min- ister. No one has the gravitas of the present prime minister who is still liked and supported by the majori- ty of the electorate and it could very well be that the country is unwilling to experience more shockwaves. We are primarily concerned about the state of the economy, the good- feel factor that is. In spite of the gravity of the situ- ation, there is little doubt that the work of the Maltese police has reaped results and this can be attested by the number of interrogations, arrests and police bail issued in the last days. Surely accusations that this institu- tion is not functioning are not entire- ly correct. Recent news has led many of the associated bodies to express serious concern that this will dent business confidence and have a deleterious ef- fect on purchasing power. ere is also a paralysis in Govern- ment in a country where the adminis- tration of the day has a direct impact on what is happening and does not happen. at normality can only materialise if the police arraign those suspect- ed of masterminding the murder of Caruana Galizia and more impor- tantly contribute to final closure. Closure is essential if we are to move on as a country. A government with a mandate of five years, elected with an over- whelming majority of 40,000 is not facing a confidence crisis in parlia- ment, but it is surely facing a confi- dence crisis within the business com- munity and financial sector. ere is also the reputational dam- age abroad. And the Prime Minister alone can address this. He must plan his exit carefully. En- sure that the transition of leadership is carried out in the interest of the country. It is a great pity that a man who fuelled this economy to new heights, introduced social measures which were not thought possible of in such a conservative country, and opened up to all strata of businesses creating a pro-business environment unpar- alleled in the whole EU, now finds himself having to worry about mak- ing sure this administration leaves behind a sound legacy. is is the challenge that lies ahead. We cannot see this being carried out by the present Prime Minister, unless his fortunes and the outcome in the prosecution change dramatically. ere used to be a time when peo- ple would say that the Prime Minister was a lucky man. Well, that luck seems to have run out. Only time will tell how things will pan out. Although - somehow - Mus- cat always seems to return when most people think he will not. The road ahead