Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1220238
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 MARCH 2020 NEWS ANALYSIS blessed. So what possible impact may the three crises situations have on Abela and how can he de- fuse them? Textbook corruption Facts revealed by this newspa- per, namely how Vitals Global Healthcare directors Ram Tu- muluri and Bluestone's Mark Pawley paid themselves €1 mil- lion for each year since 2015 and a €5 million bonus in a back-dated contract they de- vised in June 2017, suggest that the hospital privatization was nothing short of a blatant exer- cise in self-enrichment. Of all the scandals from the Muscat era, this scandal may well be the most tangible one, as it sounds like a textbook case of putting public goods at the disposal of crony capitalists who gave nothing in return. Yet contractual obligations towards Stewards, the US Company that took over from Vitals, may well make Abe- la's choices difficult. Abela may well find him- self in the same position as Alfred Sant when dealing with the San Raffaele in- heritance the PN left him in 1996. So far, the public reaction at the swindle has been surprisingly meek with the news cy- cle taken over by more immediate threats, namely the corona- virus and the house collapse in Ham- run. Still, if these two unrelated events trigger a slowdown in the economy, Abela may well end up more vulnerable to the corruption issue. In this case, Abela has the advantage that this case dates back to the Muscat era. But this also tests his creden- tials as a reformer. One way out for Abela is to immediate- ly kick out Konrad Mizzi from the party and publicly disgrace him. This will at least force Mizzi to assume political responsi- bility for the scandal. But how far can Abela go in distancing himself from the Muscat clan, which included Mizzi? Falling houses, rising anger Abela's reaction to the latest house collapse has been to go back to the drawing board by asking a new commission of four experts to assess the con- struction rules drafted only last year by government policy ad- visor Robert Musumeci. But Abela has not asked infra- structure minister Ian Borg to shoulder political responsibili- ty for failing to avert the latest tragedy, which has resulted in a woman losing her life. Abela has been cautious in his criticism of the construction industry and seems reluctant in slowing it down, at least un- til Malta has the full capacity to enforce regulations. Abela's major concern may well be that a slowdown in con- struction could have a domino effect on other sectors of the economy. Despite his good intentions, Abela could consider changing the economic model itself – reducing dependence on con- struction – as being too risky for his own personal fortunes, especially while the present moment remains dominated by uncertainty triggered by the coronavirus. In short Abela may be a vic- tim of Muscat's economic suc- cess: the country may have be- come too addicted to growth on steroids, not to suffer the pains of withdrawal symptoms when the daily dose of building permits is interrupted. A virus in the economy Abela has also dithered in dealing with the coronavirus, first over whether to let the MSC Opera cruise liner enter Malta, and whether to stop flights from northern Italy, be- traying signs of uncertainty. While the cruise ship was re- fused entry despite business pressures (but after protests by doctors and health work- ers), a full travel ban from and to Italy was only stopped after Italian PM Giuseppe Conte an- nounced a national lock-down on Monday. It has even been reported that health minister Chris Fearne had wanted to stop flights from northern Italy earlier. Abela's insistence on the country pro- ceeding with a sense of normal- ity may be based on a rational assessment, but taking any un- necessary risk may well return to haunt Abela. His dithering also raises ques- tions on whether Abela is put- ting economic considerations before public health. And the health emergency has catapulted his erstwhile leadership rival into the na- tional stage as someone people can trust with their health and wellbeing. Abela cannot afford to look less stringent than his own deputy PM, who excels in these moments. That may explain why he called a press conference at midnight yesterday to an- nounce the travel ban. But he remains under strain because of the economic repercussions of the virus, with businessmen in the tourism industry already demanding an ease in fiscal pressures, which if granted will result in a decline in govern- ment revenue. If the international economy takes a nosedive, amidst a pos- sible collapse of the Eurozone triggered by Italy, Abela may find himself in the same posi- tion Gonzi was in 2009 after winning an improbable elec- tion in 2008. In short: it could paralyse him. interrupted Robert Abela's honeymoon