Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1308376
8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 NOVEMBER 2020 ANALYSIS IT'S hard not to view Jason Azzo- pardi's Tumas freebie in the light of his zeal in hounding Labour and former PN leader Adrian Delia for their links with Yorgen Fenech, the alleged mastermind of the Caruana Galizia murder. But back in March 2017 at the time of his Tel Aviv jaunt, no trail yet existed linking Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech to major corruption cases. And that means any condem- nation of Azzopardi's behaviour now applies to any, and all, polit- ical recipients of favours from big business. So Labour has set new standards for its own MPs by hit- ting out at Azzopardi. Robert Abela certainly cannot hold on to any equivalence be- tween Azzopardi's failure to de- clare his freebie and those gov- ernment officials and ministers who kept in contact with Yorgen Fenech after it emerged the Elec- trogas shareholder was the own- er of 17 Black, a secret company linked former energy minister and former chief of staff's Pan- ama companies. It should have the been obvious for anyone in November 2018 that the 17 Black revelation had cast a dark shadow on how Labour had delivered its main electoral promise in 2013 for a gas plant. But even despite this crucial distinction, ethical guidelines are meant to avoid obligations politi- cians may have towards the busi- ness class, especially when gifts and favours may return to haunt them at a later date, are left unde- clared. If MPs allow themselves to be exposed to retribution and potential blackmail, from this an- gle Azzopardi's actions were not only reckless and embarrassing, but also ethically wrong. Sin of omission: Jason Azzopar- di did not declare the gift Azzopardi repeatedly denied re- ceiving gifts from Tumas Group. He was neither upfront nor truthful. This is his major fault as by hiding it Azzopardi seems to acknowledge his own embar- rassment. He had a golden opportunity of coming clean by declaring the re- ceipt of the gift, perhaps not im- mediately, but before lashing out on others for their connections with the Tumas Group after the 17 Black revelations. He could well have used his own case to make a distinction between con- nections established before No- vember 2017 and others which continued after that date. Instead when asked on XTRA whether he had received any gift from Yorgen Fenech's compa- nies, he replied that he could not remember having received any- thing from either Fenech or his group of companies. Azzopardi only refreshed his memory after Illum broke the story – a case of Azzopardi evading the truth, and missing the opportunity to set the narrative himself with his own explanations. Azzopardi should ask himself whether he would have made a fuss had it emerged in 2017 be- fore the 17 Black revelations, that a prominent Labour politician had his hotel stay paid by one of the owners of the power station. Azzopardi raised the bar, but could not resist requesting a favour Jason Azzopardi raised the bar for himself by expecting others to behave ethically and beyond reproach. But when not under the radar he could not resist ben- efitting from a connection in the business world for his own per- sonal advantage. He has been the Opposition's chief inquisitor not just with La- bour but also his nemesis, the former PN leader Adrian Delia, whose position was rendered un- tenable by his own failure to dis- close chats with the Tumas mag- nate after November 2018. Like all self-appointed inquis- itors, Azzopardi's reputation depends on practicing what he preaches, so his lack of transpar- ency on himself is bound to back- fire on him and his cause. Of course, Azzopardi had no way to anticipate in 2017 that Yorgen Fenech would be first exposed as the owner of 17 Black and then as the mastermind of Caruana Galizia's assassination. But Azzopardi had to disclose his 'gift' before castring fire and brimstone on government mem- bers for their own collusion with Fenech. Moreover, Azzopardi had no qualms in asking a favour from a business group which in 2017 had already established a reputation for wielding influence on the political class, apart from becoming a target for the oppo- sition after 2013. And the timing coincided with revelations that the PN was in the receipt of fund- ing from the DB Group, which then undermined their legitimate concerns on the ITS land trans- fer. Getting a Hilton freebie from Ray Fenech while his party was reeling from a scandal on its own links to big business, suggests poor judgement on Azzopardi's part. Although pre-17 Black, the Tumas freebie comes after the Electrogas deal and bank guarantees, Mriehel's inclusion for high-rise, and a number of controversial planning permits Surely all those WhatsApp chats, gifts and relationships with Yorgen Fenech became more toxic for politicians after 17 Black was exposed in 2018 (and then that scandal is not even linked to Ray Fenech). But even before July 2017, the Nationalist Party was already committed to rescind on the Electrogas energy deal and had Soliciting a Tumas favour to get a Hilton roon in Tel Aviv weeks before the 2017 election, exposed Jason Azzopardi of being 'under obligation', as all politicians are with big business. But the crusading MP should have known better, JAMES DEBONO argues Beware of Greeks bearing gifts: why Jason