Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1188980
DAMN. This is the second time in two weeks I have been forced to scrap an entire article owing to changing circumstances on the ground. Until a few minutes ago, I was putting the final touches onto one about the possible rami- fications of Joseph Muscat's refusal to step down as prime minister… And what do you know? All media outlets now report that Joseph Muscat will be step- ping down after all; and he might make the announce- ment within minutes. All those hours of hard work, drown the drain… But then again, these things have a habit of balancing themselves out. Last week, I wrote another unpublished article, in which I speculated what might happen (in the then-unlikely event that) if Muscat did, in fact, resign. So the rest will be an updat- ed version of that earlier arti- cle. With a few small provisos, however. For starters, I will not go onto the implications of Mus- cat's imminent resignation (real or imaginary) for the murder investigation itself; because we still don't know for sure if he will or won't. Suffice it to say, however, that this news comes: a) only hours after an earlier (3.30am) statement, following a Cabi- net meeting, to the effect that he would not be resigning at all, and; b) before news re- ports that Yorgen Fenech had named Muscat as a potential suspect in his submissions to police interrogation. All this has to be treated with extreme caution. At this stage, Yorgen Fenech is himself the prime suspect. As such, he has an immediate interest in widening the inves- tigation net: it would lessen his own culpability for the murder, and therefore reduce his sentence. The bottom line is that Yor- gen Fenech might be telling the truth; but he might also be lying. We just don't have enough information, as yet, to decide either way. So instead of predicting out- comes, I will limit myself to contemplating the challenges faced by the new leader- ship that will presumably be replacing Joseph Muscat in the coming weeks. For the changes taking place behind the throne come at a criti- cal time, both for the Labour Party and the country as a whole. Simply put, the new leader- ship team will have to ensure that justice is done (and is seen to be done) in the Daph- ne Caruana Galizia murder inquiry; it will have to preside over a (probably very bumpy) transition period towards the re-acquisition of 'normality'; it will have to shore up the instability currently reign- ing over government; and above all, it will be expected to recalibrate the country's entire trajectory, with a view to stamping out, as far as pos- sible, the corruption culture that has lain at the core of this ghastly murder from the outset. Whether it undertakes any of those endeavours naturally depends on the nature and character of the new leader; and that's just another of the things we can't reliably predict (which, of course, also means that everyone and his dog is currently predicting Chris Fearne. We shall see…) But even the smallest of those targets would make the ordinary daily business of any Maltese government look like a walk in the park. Taken to- gether, they represent argua- bly the single greatest national challenge since Independence (with the possible exception of EU membership). So let's tackle them one at a time. The first priority will be to avoid, at all costs, the perception that the incom- ing government is in any way 'protecting' the outgoing one. On one hand, this would imply involving itself as little as possible in ongoing inves- tigations – which, for reasons already explained, now have to take Yorgen Fenech's latest claims into account – but also, opening up all previously internal OPM dealings to scrutiny by the investigators. On that score, we should re- ally be moving towards a state of total transparency… and not just for the sake of final closure in the Daphne murder case. There are still too many unanswered questions in the equation. Now, for instance, would be a good time to finally publish that full Egrant magisterial inquiry report. But that inquiry was limited merely to establish whether there was any evidence linking Egrant specifically to Joseph Muscat… and not to iden- tify the ultimate beneficiary owner, regardless who it might be. So, now would perhaps be a better time to launch an overdue investigation with the sole, specific target of unmasking the owner of that company once and for all. (The same, naturally, goes for Macbridge, and any other remaining 'missing links' in the case). Another, more controversial measure would have to be revisiting Muscat's final (in- auspicious) decision as prime minister, which was to refuse Yorgen Fenech a Presidential pardon. Personally, I am rather hoping that the truth would not need another pardon to be forthcoming. In an ideal world, investigators should be able to pinpoint suspects without having to resort to such extreme measures as 'granting immunity from prosecution'. And there are other tools – including plea-bargaining – to consider instead. But given what we know about Yorgen Fenech's ver- sion of events (true or false, not for us to say at this stage), the country needs full assur- ance that all leads are being thoroughly followed, regard- less where they seem to point. Having said this, it remains just as undesirable for a newly inaugurated prime minis- ter to simply take the same controversial decision him- or-herself. I don't know who suggested the idea originally, but I like the concept of a spe- cial ad hoc board, composed of acting and retired judges, to examine the specifics of the case, and then make a recommendation to the prime minister accordingly. It would introduce a much- needed buffer zone between the seat of political power, 24 OPINION maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 DECEMBER 2019 Raphael Vassallo There is more than 'closure' at stake here All this has to be treated with extreme caution. At this stage, Yorgen Fenech is himself the prime suspect. As such, he has an immediate interest in widening the investigation net: it would lessen his own culpability for the murder, and therefore reduce his sentence