Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1266179
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JULY 2020 OPINION A 2010 BBC radio documen- tary titled 'Useful Idiots' listed among the "useful idiots" of Jo- seph Stalin several well-known writers, including H.G. Wells, Doris Lessing and George Ber- nard Shaw, because by exposing the social problems inherent in western democracies, they un- wittingly helped Stalin in his endeavours to promote com- munism. The phrase is also currently being used by self-styled 'patri- otic' populists when describing those who consider the African migrant crisis from a humani- tarian aspect. Those who defend saving migrants at sea as a mat- ter of principle are considered to be 'useful idiots' who unwittingly help human traffickers making money from the migration phe- nomenon. Sometimes, to be honest, the line between actually behaving like an idiot and purposely pre- tending to be an idiot is very hazy. But, as the saying goes, ig- norance is not an acceptable ex- cuse. It is an established princi- ple that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law, merely because one was unaware of its content and implications. More- over, persons engaged in any ac- tivities that are not common for normal persons are expected to become aware of the laws neces- sary to carry out the activities. If they do not they are fools - who could become useful to others with more despicable intentions. In the current Maltese politi- cal scenario, the contribution of 'useful fools' who - directly or indirectly - unwittingly helped the illegal and criminal activi- ties of politicians who abused power for their own advantage is very important. Those who helped the abuse by reneging on their duty should also be held ac- countable. The former Police Commis- sioner, Lawrence Cutajar, has been described as a 'useful fool', precisely because his way of do- ing nothing was indirectly abet- ting the cause of those who were doing many things for which they should have been investi- gated. Following his example, most of the top hierarchy of the Police Force proved to be 'useful fools' not by breaking the law but by ignoring those who were break- ing the law. Testifying before the public inquiry on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Assis- tant Police Commissioner, and former head of the Economic Crimes Unit, Ian Abdilla, last Wednesday had no reply when repeatedly asked why the police had not taken steps to question Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi after the Panama Papers revealed that they had opened accounts in that secret jurisdic- tion. It results that no one men- tioned in the Panama Papers was ever investigated, with the Police force acting as useful idiots, al- beit there were some who de- cided to resign from their posts so as to avoid being indirect ac- complices. Abdilla complained that the Dubai authorities had not co-op- erated with the Maltese Police by not even bothering to reply to their queries. On the other hand, a foreign journalist and Daph- ne's son had gone to Dubai and obtained the information. This raises another question: was the information that revealed that Yorgen Fenech owned the Dubai company, 17 Black, obtained in Dubai through normal channels in a way that could be described as being 'above board'? The al- ready thick plot continues to thicken. The story took yet another twist when towards the end of last Wednesday's inquiry hear- ing, when Judge Said Pullicino referred to a file at the Economic Crimes Unit in which there is a minute written by the Attorney General, Peter Grech, advising the Unit to tread carefully re- garding the Panama Papers be- cause there was trouble brewing in the country. Abdilla said he did not recall this advice. Sure enough, ever eager to show that he is the loosest can- non Malta has ever seen, Nation- alist MP Jason Azzopardi imme- diately recorded this claim on Facebook. He actually recorded, in his own words, what he re- called the Judge saying when he referred to the minute. This means that no one knows what the exact words of the min- ute were and perhaps explains why the Attorney General im- mediately issued a statement saying that Jason Azzopardi had lied when he accused him of advising the Police not to in- vestigate Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. Sadly, even the Attorney Gen- eral seems to qualify as yet an- other 'useful fool', but writing such a minute as described by Jason Azzopardi would be much more than that. Alas, some seem to be enjoying these episodes in Malta's current never-ending soap opera about a tragedy that revealed the shock- ing abuse of Malta's rule of law that undermined our democrat- ic credentials. In this case, the easiest way out would be for the authorities to publish the Attorney General's actual minute rather than al- lowing yet another controversy based on different interpreta- tions of what the minute actually said and implied. And so, it goes on and on... Another useful fool I do not pretend that I can form a valid opinion on the academ- ic prowess of Professor Edward Scicluna who has served as the minister responsible for finance ever since Joseph Muscat's first Cabinet after the 2013 election. But I have no doubt that Sci- cluna has failed the test as a valid politician - and is proving that he is yet another 'useful fool' ma- nipulated by the criminal clique that had the real power behind the facade presented by Joseph Muscat. His defence of his role in the Montenegro wind farm scandal is pathetic. He 'explained' that whatever happened was the re- sponsibility of Enemalta's board of directors and that there was no input coming from the fi- nance ministry. Then he even went to assert that the Auditor General has every right to investigate the story as the government owned 66% of the company. Ironically, this is the exact rea- son why, as finance minister, he had the duty to monitor what the company was doing - a duty that he flagrantly disregarded. He also had the duty to mon- itor the scandalous Vitals con- tract that involved the govern- ment's coffers directly. In that case, again, he proved to be a 'useful fool' manipulated by a cunning con man called Kon- rad Mizzi. His ministry should have monitored Konrad Mizzi's pseudo-tenders and the pro- cessing of their 'award' as well as the wording of the eventual contracts, but it preferred to do nothing. I do not believe that Scicluna has personally pocketed any- thing from these shady deals but he is as guilty as hell for letting them happen when he had the power and the duty to stop them. Michael Falzon The role of useful fools micfal45@gmail.com