Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1256426
WHAT happened in the last days in relation to the compila- tion of evidence against Yorgen Fenech, the alleged mastermind in the murder of Daphne Caru- ana Galizia, may have gone un- noticed to all those who resort to only reading the titles of sto- ries rather than the content. What has suddenly surfaced is that the middleman Melvin Theuma, who has been given a presidenital pardon, has now 'confirmed' the content of the selective transcripts of his re- cordings presented in court which point a finger to the La- bour Party deputy leader Chris Cardona. This is news. It is not proof of wrongdoing, but certainly wor- rying. My choice of the word 'selec- tive' is not meant to exculpate anyone. Certainly enough, were we living in a normal country, the Labour Party would be call- ing on Chris Cardona to resign his deputy leadership role. And it wouldn't stop at just that; it would be the delegates them- selves who would stand up to be counted and demand that Cardona relinquish his position inside the party. Not because he is culpable (for he did remind us that all that has been said is "hearsay"...) but at this stage, the only honourable thing to do would be the right thing... and the right thing is to resign. But back to the word 'selec- tive'. For reasons that I cannot understand, Inspector Keith Arnaud has as yet to provide a broad enough exposé of the audio files from the Theuma re- cordings. This is curious, since I can surmise that in these doz- ens and dozens of files, so many other people in power have been mentioned; people in the highest echelons of power. Like Keith Schembri, or the former Commissioner of Police. Why just this transcript? And why now? Melvin Theuma himself is ex- pected to say all the truth and not be 'selective' or economical with the truth. He may have just walked into a maze. The truth about his money laundering activities and his dealings with the people who ordered and executed the assassination may very well also be found in the manuscripts, but not exhibited just yet. For example, the sum of mon- ey mentioned that was paid for the murder has now increased over a previously mentioned figure by Theuma. How come? How did this change? I am seeing a Zeppi l-Hafi re- make, and the onus of respon- sibility here lies with the police prosecution, which will make or break this case. I can under- stand that their resources are depleted and limited, but I am baffled as to why the police have not called in the alleged bomb- makers, who have been men- tioned once, twice, three times in court sittings. A simple ques- tion: why have the police stalled and not called them in? That's quite a tame question. Surely there is no justification for po- lice delays on this matter alone. And though the State has no obligation or right to interfere in the judicial process, it is cer- tainly justified to ask the police why these omissions have been allowed to occur. Even the presentation of transcripts could be designed to bypass certain episodes in the conversations that Melvin Theuma recorded. In the eyes of the public, a good deal of ev- idence here is being presented without chronological sense or context. It is one thing having selected pieces of these audio files presented in court, anoth- er to have the full picture out in the open; for it could show that Theuma is not saying the entire truth (at least for now), and that after all this, we should be talk- ing of masterminds... not one mastermind. For truth to prevail, we need a police force that acts with the complete freedom to act. And for this to happen we need a new police commissioner now – not the acting commissioner of police we have today. Time is on nobody's side. And failure to act will serve no one. Surely not the truth and neither justice. Budgetary virus The budget that will be pre- sented on Monday may fall short in reaching out to ailing businesses. I feel that the rea- soning behind the proposal may not be creative enough to cush- ion the tsunami that will hit the Maltese economy. I have said this before and I will say it again: it cannot be that more than the half the pop- ulation in the private sector are attempting to survive while all those in the public sector are al- lowed to carry on as if nothing had ever happened. On this matter, the Air Malta pilots – whose ludicrous de- mands I still do not quite under- stand – may have a small point: "Why us and not the others?" For it is true that Air Malta has been operating at a deficit, but if that is the only argument then surely the same can be said for the rest of the public sector. Surely there are those in the public sector who are unwill- ing to get out of their comfort zone, and the COVID-19 pan- demic has shown this. But the decisions at Air Malta should be duplicated in other spheres, especially where civil service working days do not reflect those of the private sector (the summer half-days compen- sate for longer winter days, but that means reduced services for those who work normal hours in summer). If we are going to talk of national sacrifices, we have to balance out the costs endured by the private sector with the cushion available to the public sector. Some people have not quite realised that the world has changed and that the recession that has hit Europe and beyond will leave such deep wounds that most people's reduced spending power will now take centre-stage. And yet, some businesses, from the professional classes to small retailers, continue to think in terms of making the same profits. We will be killing ourselves if we do not change this mindset dramatically. And my fear is that a new, anti-so- cial free market mind-frame will take over, ignoring all com- mon sense or compassion, only wanting to make the rich richer while the have-less and have- nots are forgotten, with a sand- wiched middle-class that will, no doubt, either claw its way to the top, or be left gasping for air. Robert Abela needs to throw us a lifebuoy now, and ensure a level playing-field for all. We are in for a very ugly time. The collapse of the Maltese econ- omy will lead to mass unem- ployment. Stay safe now. But that safety is in the hands of the State led by Abela. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JUNE 2020 OPINION Saviour Balzan @saviourbalzan The curious case of Chris Cardona Certainly enough, were we living in a normal country, the Labour Party would be calling on Chris Cardona to resign his deputy leadership role