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OPINION 25 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 DECEMBER 2019 A symbiotic relationship Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com A short time after Joseph Mus- cat was elected Labour leader, an acquaintance of mine who – unlike me – had known Muscat for some time assured me that the new Labour leader was just a damp squib, in the sense that he was expected to be interesting, exciting, or im- pressive, but will actually fail to be any of these things. As time passed by, I decided that this assessment of Joseph Muscat was completely erroneous. In fact, I often expressed myself in the sense that he was being constantly underestimated and that his astuteness made him capa- ble of achieving apparently difficult results with a certain ease. Muscat's tryst with the history of our country is not ending in triumph, but in disgrace. Was he therefore the astute, unbeatable politi- cian that many thought he was or was he just a screen behind which somebody else's astuteness and guile were hidden? The man behind the screen was, of course, Keith Schembri. Coincidentally, in Febru- ary 2017, some time before Donald Trump ditched Steve Bannon, I had written a piece titled: 'Vote Trump, get Ban- non'. In it I had commented: "In Malta we have seen Richard Cachia Caruana involving himself in electoral campaigns and then playing the part of the man behind the throne in Eddie Fenech Adami's admin- istrations. Today, we have a similar relationship between Joseph Muscat and Keith Schembri. "It is an interesting phenom- enon. Nobody voted for Steve Bannon to become President of the USA, as much as no- body ever voted for Richard Cachia Caruana or for Keith Schembri to become 'de facto' Prime Ministers of Malta." The same, I suppose, could be said of the relationship between Lawrence Gonzi and Edgar Galea Curmi. My comments went further: "The immense influence these men hold (or held) in the power structure of the different administrations is acknowledged by many – including elected politi- cians who grumble about the system giving so much power to 'unelected' persons. That between leader and 'counsel- lor' is an interesting symbiotic relationship that merits fur- ther study by professionals." I do not underestimate the input Richard Cachia Caru- ana gave to Fenech Adami's political strategies and to his administrations, nor do I underestimate the contribu- tion of Edgar Galea Curmi to Gonzi's way of doing things, but I am sure that both Fenech Adami and Gonzi were men of substance and although their counsellor's input was very important, the buck actually stopped with the Prime Minister. When there was disagree- ment, as there must always be between any two adults, the two Prime Ministers – could and did – rule out their advi- sors' advice. It could well be that there were not many oc- casions when this happened – that is the way this symbiosis works. It is also true that there were instances when the two PMs used their personal coun- sellor to do their dirty work for them. But my experience leaves me no doubt that both Fenech Adami and Gonzi were their own men, not a screen for somebody else. It now seems that the Schembri-Muscat relation- ship was quite different. Was Joseph Muscat just a screen for Keith Schembri to the ex- tent that decisions on politi- cal strategies and on policies were actually being taken by Keith Schembri hiding behind a façade called Joseph Mus- cat? There is no doubt that this is also the impression of a num- ber of Castille insiders, who now feel freer to express their opinion on this issue. Is this why Schembri boasted that he had given La- bour ten victories – victories that were purportedly won by Muscat? And did Schem- bri make a mistake when he mentioned 'ten' victories – as some concluded – or was he also including the victories that the Schembri-Muscat tandem made within the structures of the Labour Party? Remember Schembri also had an office at the La- bour headquarters. Was the tail actually wag- ging the dog all the time? And would the dog have been left wondering what to do if he lost the tail? Was this the real reason why Muscat had indicated that he 'needed' Schembri (and Kon- rad Mizzi) to the extent that he could not dicth them when their setting up of companies in Panama was revealed? I cannot but acknowledge that my acquaintance's assess- ment of Joseph Muscat being an empty vessel was probably nearer the truth than I ever thought. President's message In his message for Christ- mas, President George Vella called for everyone to do their utmost for the country to re- gain ground and for everyone to feel respected. He insisted that this could only be done if everyone shouldered their responsi- bilities and carried them out honestly and transparently, placing the country's interests first and foremost. This is a message worth pursuing. It has to be followed up with action by all political parties and all members of civil society if our dear Malta is to regain its standing and honour. Happy New Year Here's wishing a very happy and prosperous New Year to all MaltaToday readers and staff. Was Joseph Muscat just a screen for Keith Schembri to the extent that decisions on political strategies and on policies were actually being taken by Keith Schembri hiding behind a façade called Joseph Muscat?