Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1286060
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS his opponents use this episode without further harming them- selves? Labour cannot play equiva- lence Only Labour's most fanatical voters would not see the irony of Labour lashing at Grech's fiscal morality when most of its MPs gave a vote of confi- dence to Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, both of which had set up a company in Pan- ama which included Yorgen Fenech's 17 Black as a client, a confidence vote. Although Abela raised the bar by kick- ing Mizzi out, he still faces the problem posed by Joseph Mus- cat's legacy, leading a party, which is collectively respon- sible for a state capture that ensured impunity for those in- volved in scandals which weigh so heavily on Labour's moral credentials. Neither is Abela, a benefi- ciary of massive direct orders under both PN and PL admin- istrations, the best person to attack the integrity of others. Abela himself refused to com- mit to drop his own family's le- gal brief for the PA when first asked about a potential conflict of interest. It was only follow- ing an outcry on the media that Abela committed himself to drop the legal brief. Moreover, the scrutiny ac- corded to Grech's fiscal affairs may well end up raising the bar for all aspiring professional and self-employed politicians, in- cluding those who switched to Labour's side. This could be the most beneficial consequence of this case: that of raising the bar for all the lawyers, architects and businesspersons who join the political fray. Delia can't raise the bar for Grech At best, news of Grech's fis- cal troubles may give Delia some respite from the media focus on his own troubles. It somewhat exposes a degree of double standards on the part of those who were keen to exag- gerate any failing on the part of Delia, but are quick to absolve Grech before he even answers the questions. However, there is also a dan- ger of the Delia camp using this case to create a false equiva- lence which absolves everyone. Twistin the moralism of the so- called 'holier than thou' just to normalize irregular behaviour, ignores the sizeable percent- age of PN voters in 2017 who found Labour's corruption in- tolerable. Delia may benefit from the disillusionment of PN members who expected better of Grech, but even this could backfire by generating greater interest in the PN's ethics com- mission's report. Delia can only benefit if his position is found to be any bet- ter than Grech, i.e. if he has settled all pending dues and is no longer in a weak position when confronting government to which no Opposition leader should owe money. Anyway, Delia's problems go beyond fiscal compliance. Re- ports of extensive communi- cation between Yorgen Fenech and close aide Pierre Portelli are bound to reverberate on Delia. In the circumstances, the greatest consideration made by members will be which of the two candidates is most elect- able. To win Delia will have to prove that he is more electable than Grech – and therefore, Grech will therefore probably win this contest. Neither Grech nor Delia There is a chance that the lat- est revelations may frustrate those within the PN who set- tled for Grech, simply because they had been deprived of a wider choice of candidates. It was under the impression that Grech had no skeletons in his cupboard that other valid can- didates withdrew from the race. Will they be resentful at Grech for entering the race with bag- gage of which they were not aware of when they agreed to withdraw? Grech's candidature was based on the assumption that he is the closest you can get to a Delia without a baggage. Now PN members have no al- ternative to Delia but Grech, two outsiders that to different degrees, have brought some of their baggage to the party's sta- bles, with Grech disposing of it just before entering. People are likely to become more cynical While Grech still has a strong chance of winning, his major problem will be convincing an even more cynical electorate that he really means it when he speaks of higher standards in politics. His fiscal problems and his failure to come clean before the news emerged in the newspa- pers, may well have weakened his credentials among M.O.R. voters who were warming up to the new PN leader but are now disappointed. Grech can only narrow the gap with Labour if he reach- es out to this category. Rather than blaming Labour for the bad news, he could show more humility, explain his position, if need be apologise, and move on with dignity. Otherwise he would be con- tributing to increased cyni- cism, something which may lead to a paralysis in the battle against corruption. or knocked out?