Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1202670
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 JANUARY 2020 NEWS Can Abela steal the opposition's thunder? Good governance PN strategists may well have hoped that Adrian Delia stood a better chance con- fronting a new Labour leader who lacked Joseph Muscat's stature and aura of in- vincibility. They may have hoped anyone elected after the meltdown of the Mus- cat government would have inherited a divided and demoralised party. Perhaps they underestimated the abil- ity of the Labour Party to regenerate and unite behind a new leader, but cer- tainly they did not expect a new leader to distance himself in such a short time from Muscat's 'traditions' to be able to renew the party's appeal to floaters and middle-of-the-road voters. After failing to capitalise on the melt- down of the Muscat government, the Nationalist Party is once again facing a quandary: that of facing a new Labour leader who not only enjoys a strong mandate from Labour members but who upon being elected leader has ap- parently raised the bar on governance. For that is exactly what Abela did when accepting the resignation of Justyne Caruana. Ironically the dismal track record of his predecessor on governance issues has provided Abela an opportunity to shine. For while revelations showing the familiarity between former deputy commissioner Silvio Valletta and Yor- gen Fenech, the alleged mastermind of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, were a stark reminder of the murky state of affairs under the Muscat administration, the instant resignation of Caruana provided Abela an opportu- nity to raise the bar on ministerial eth- ics, which had sunk so low ever since Muscat retained Konrad Mizzi as min- ister and Keith Schembri as his chief of staff. Ironically, what should have come as vindication of the Opposition's criti- cism of the police handling of the Caru- ana Galizia investigation and Valletta's role in it, has served to reinforce Abela's credentials as a reformer. By accepting Caruana's resignation, Abela has put all his ministers on no- tice, in a strong message that resigna- tions will be expected not just from those caught red-handed in wrongdo- ing, but also from those with a shadow hanging on their reputation due to the wrongdoing of spouses and associates. Moreover, this test came in the wake of a number of decisions taken by Ab- ela which contrasted with Muscat's handling of the Panama scandal and the Caruana Galizia murder aftermath. The list of casualties of Abela's first week in office includes police commis- sioner Lawrence Cutajar, OPM official Neville Gafà, as well as ministers Chris Cardona and Justyne Caruana. It also comes in the wake of a decision to stop the state-sanctioned removal of flow- ers from the Daphne shrine opposite the law courts and the appointment of Clyde Caruana, a technocrat with no dubious business connections, as the OPM's head of secretariat. Surely one may argue that Abela does not deserve much credit for restoring a sense of decency in the country. But by betraying the expectations of continui- ty, Abela has managed to positively sur- prise critics even by simply doing what is expected of him. Rather than raising expectations only to disappoint upon being elected, Abela intelligently low- ered expectations before being elected, in a way which makes his present ac- tions more noteworthy. But how far can Abela go? The risk for Abela now is that by acting decisively, he may be raising the bar for himself especially when the going gets Has Robert Abela disarmed Adrian Delia by 'accepting' Justyne Caruana's resignation and raising the ethics bar? JAMES DEBONO takes a look at Abela's pitch to voters disillusioned by Muscat's legacy on good governance