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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 Abela risks being dragged down by Muscat's legacy Editorial THERE can be no doubt that Prime Minister Robert Abela has had a difficult first year in office. Just two months into his term, he was con- fronted by arguably the most serious crisis any Maltese prime minister has ever had to face: the COVID-19 pandemic, which – in terms of both public health and economy – has wrought havoc with the government's human and financial re- sources. It is only fair to acknowledge, then, that the dif- ficulties he has faced so far, were well in excess of those facing any previous administration. On another level, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it certain 'advan- tages' for the government, and for Robert Abela in particular. With so much public attention automatically diverted towards the latest health updates, Abela's government has so far been spared the intense scrutiny that would otherwise be warranted: given the shocking revelations now emerging from the Daphne Caruana Galizia mur- der inquiry. Were it not for the extraordinary circumstanc- es we are currently living in, Abela would surely be facing difficult, uncomfortable questions about the long shadow cast by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on his administration: a shadow that Abela is clearly finding hard to dis- pel. For instance: the Prime Minister's reaction to Muscat's recent interrogation, at the hands of the police, reveals the extent of his predecessor's enduring influence. "Joseph Muscat occupies no role in this govern- ment," Abela said, when asked if Muscat's posi- tion as a Labour MP was still tenable. "He is just an MP elected by the people. I am following these developments… his questioning by police… he is not being investigated over any crime. Naturally decisions will be taken if changes happen. I will take any decision, no matter how difficult, in the best interest of the country." This reply is problematic, in part because it simply doesn't answer the question itself. The fact that Muscat was questioned in connection with a (previously secret) WhatsApp chat with Keith Schembri and Yorgen Fenech himself – the alleged mastermind behind the murder – has clear and obvious political ramifications. In any other country, and at any other time, Joseph Muscat's position as a Labour MP would be con- sidered anything but 'tenable', in light of this revelation. Besides: Abela is simply incorrect to state that Muscat was 'not being investigated over any crime'. He was indeed called in for questioning in connection with a crime – the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, which also shocked and destabi- lised the entire country – and moreover, he was questioned 'under caution': a legal term which implies that anything Muscat said to the police, might later be used as evidence against him. Abela cannot therefore so easily sidestep the question. The continued presence of Joseph Mus- cat, within the ranks of the Labour Party, can only undermine his own credibility in the long term. But there are also political considerations. For all intents and purposes, this administration is as much Muscat's as it is Abela's: the people elected in 2017 and serving in Abela's Cabinet are all part of Muscat's legacy; and the government's 'busi- ness as usual' approach, after the December crisis that forced Muscat's resignation, suggests that it remains the same government elected to power in 2017. And this legacy is problematic, even for reasons unconnected with the recent revelations. Abela may look back at the historic victories of the La- bour government in 2013 and 2017, but there is a dark cloud hanging over major decisions taken back in those years: Electrogas, Vitals, the Mozu- ra wind energy park... Coupled with all the revelations in the public inquiry and the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech, they all illustrating a poisonous centre of power inside Castille, that took hold deeply in 2013. Even Abela's victory in the Labour election owes itself to Joseph Muscat's silent campaign to have his former Cabinet consultant installed as party leader. So when Abela gives the press a legalistic an- swer as to Muscat's questioning by police, he is not answering to the real implications: i.e., that - unless Abela places a defining stamp, on both the Labour Party and the government, of what his own vision is - his administration will remain marked by Muscat's legacy and its subservience to Muscat. Sooner or later, however, Abela will have to make that effort to distance himself from his pre- decessor… or else, run the risk of being dragged down with him. 6 September, 2010 MFSA looking into BOV officials who with- drew shares from bust fund THE Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has been alerted to the possibility that a direc- tor of a bank of Valletta's property fund, that went belly-up with some €50 lost in invest- ments, had access to 'price-sensitive' informa- tion when he withdrew his shareholding. BOV is being held responsible by 170 inves- tors for the way its La Vallette multi-manager property fund, once valued in excess of €84 million, was decimated to some €24 million, namely due to the worsening state of its invest- ments in the Belgravia Group. Around 41% of the property fund was invest- ed in three Belgravia funds, which suspended dealing when it was placed under criminal investigation by Jersey police and the Jersey Financial Services Authority. Additionally, the MFSA is aware of an ab- normal level of redemptions – 14.7 million shares, valued at some €13.4 million or 16% of fund – that were withdrawn, possibly by investors aware of the worsening state of the property fund after the Belgravia bust: maybe even directors and staff of Bank of Valletta and investment arms VFM and VFS, and perhaps even family relatives. It is not being suggested that proof exists of this 'smoking gun' in the dealings of the prop- erty fund. What the MFSA is looking into is when these withdrawals took place, and whether the BOV was aware of 'price-sensitive' information that was not communications to all the proper- ty fund's clients its before it suspended it. The withdrawals certainly took place as before the 7 August 2008, when BOV suspend- ed all redemptions, leaving investors unable to withdraw their cash – now down to €0.26c from a one-time high of €1.13 per share. Bank of Valletta also revealed in a recent judicial counter-protest, that it had attempted to withdraw its large investment from one Belgravia fund on 17 March, 2008. MaltaToday understands that BOV was made aware of Belgravia's worsening state when the group published its 2006 audited accounts, on 30 January 2008. ... Quote of the Week "It was a cabinet decision to give the guarantee… taken by all ministers and don't talk to me about kitchens." Finance ministry permanent secretary Alfred Camilleri testifying before the Caruana Galizia inquiry MaltaToday 10 years ago