Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1322287
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS ANALYSIS JAMES DEBONO IN his first year of office, Abe- la has used a different yardstick in censuring different Cabinet members involved in cases of impropriety, which ranges from zero tolerance for Konrad Miz- zi to passing the buck on the Standards Commissioner in the case of Rosianne Cutajar. It is very difficult for any Prime Minister to apply a univer- sal yardstick applicable to any case of misconduct, which can range from a lack of political judgement to dubious ethical behaviour or even outright cor- ruption. Abela's predecessor Jo- seph Muscat had established a very high bar, removing Michael Falzon and Manuel Mallia for impropriety happening on their watch; but then lowering the bar abysmally after retaining Konrad Mizzi in his cabinet and Keith Schembri as his closest aide. On his part Abela started his term by sending a strong mes- sage of accountability only to be- come more cautious by the end of the year. Justyne Caruana: held account- able for husband's actions Justyne Caruana had to resign from Gozo Minister after it was revealed that her husband, for- mer Deputy Police Commis- sioner Silvio Valletta, had a close friendship with Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect Yorgen Fenech. This sent a strong mes- sage that Abela would not toler- ate any proximity between Cab- inet members and the powerful businessan-turned-murder-sus- pect. In this case Caruana was held accountable for the actions of her husband. But Abela justi- fied reinstating Caruana to the Cabinet in a reshuffle in Novem- ber insisting, "she was not in- volved in anything" and pointing out that she had separated from Valletta. Konrad Mizzi: judged on a political level and fired Konrad Mizzi was expelled from the Labour Party's parlia- mentary group after Mizzi re- fused a call by the PM for him to resign. Mizzi's expulsion came in the wake of revelations that Dubai-based company 17 Black had made an undisclosed profit of €4.6 million when Enemalta bought a wind farm in Montene- gro. Abela said the decision was setting the highest standards. "I am not here to judge Konrad Mizzi from a legal point of view but on a political level." Chris Cardona: asked to resign for damning court testimony Robert Abela did not include Chris Cardona in his Cabinet. In June Abela asked Chris Car- dona to resign from PL Deputy leader in the wake of court tes- timony that implicated him in Daphne Caruana Galizia's mur- der. Cardona had described the allegations linking him to the murder as "lies". It was middle- man Melvin Theuma and Yor- gen Fenech business associate Johann Cremona, who testified that Fenech had told them of Cardona's involvement in the murder. Cardona reluctantly resigned, sending his resigna- tion letter hours after Abela an- nounced his resignations. Joseph Muscat: 'has already paid the political price' When asked whether he will adopt the same yardstick applied to Konrad Mizzi to his predeces- sor Joseph Muscat, Abela made a sharp distinction between the two politicians. "Konrad Mizzi had a connection with the Pan- ama Papers and 17 Black. Joseph Muscat had no such accusations and his mistake was not to re- move Mizzi and Keith Schembri in 2016 when the Panama con- nection came to the fore. For that he already paid a political price," Abela said. Muscat went on to resign from MP out of his own free will in October. Silvio Parnis: his post had to be elevated Silvio Parnis was the only Cab- inet member to lose his post in Abela's cabinet reshuffle. Al- though the removal was widely attributed to incompetence dur- ing the COVID-19 crisis, which saw a spike in cases in elderly homes, Abela claimed that his motivation was that of elevating the elderly and disability portfo- lios to two separate ministries in a show of commitment towards these sectors. Rosianne Cutajar: did she receive the money? Abela postponed taking a deci- sion on junior minister Rosianne Cutajar, insisting that he would take a decision once all the facts are established by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler, who was asked by independent candidate Arnold Cassola to in- vestigate a report in MaltaToday and The Sunday Times of Mal- ta on a Yorgen Fenech property deal for which Cutajar allegedly acted as a broker. The deal eventually fell through but the seller is now claiming back moneys paid in cash to Cutajar and her aide as bro- kerage fees. Cutajar, alongside Justice Minister Edward Zam- mit Lewis, had been retained in the Cabinet despite reports of WhatsApp chats suggesting proximity to Fenech. Abela's decision to pass the buck to the Standards Commis- sioner suggest that sheer 'prox- imity' to Fenech underlined in this case by Cutajar's visiting the property with Fenech after he was already exposed as the owner of 17 Black, is not enough to warrant exclusion from cabi- net. In fact the crux for Abela is whether Cutajar has accepted any money. "If she received the money – something, from what I read yesterday, she is denying – then that would be one matter. This will be determined by the commissioner for standards. We respect the decisions of institu- tions," Abela said when asked about Cutajar. Rosianne Cutajar: Abela's elastic yardstick