Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1322776
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS Christmas specials • Politics cessor Joseph Muscat, it is also represents a golden opportu- nity. For ironically by deliver- ing on good governance, Abela may yet consolidate Labour's majority by restoring his par- ty's credibility. Still police action may raise expectations of a breakthrough which may never happen, espe- cially in complex cases related to money laundering, espe- cially after a four-year delay in investigations paralyzed by the culture of impunity which characterised the Muscat era. Moreover for a segment of ac- tivists, nothing short of deliv- ering Muscat's head will satisfy their thirst for justice or venge- ance, something which may never happen either because Muscat was not directly impli- cated in the mess he tolerated or because he has covered his trail. Truth starting to catch up While no substantial progress has been done to bringing clo- sure to Panamagate, truth has started catching up with the protagonists of the panama papers, with Keith Schembri who originally denied knowing about the existence of 17 Black, now admitting that he had himself indicated it to Nexia BT for inclusion in documen- tation identifying the clients of his company. Both Schembri and Muscat have now admitted know- ing that Yorgen Fenech was the owner of the company, although it remains unclear when Muscat actually got to know about it, even if Schem- bri insists that he had never done anything behind his PM's back. Schembri still professes his innocence, downplaying his offshore interests. But his admissions go a long way from the initial denials. Missing links Yet there remains a long way to go. So far it remains unclear whether the police are inves- tigating leaks related to the Caruana Galizia murder probe possibly related to Schembri's participation in Security Ser- vices meetings. It remains to be seen whether any public official was actively obstruct- ing justice and whether an at- tempt had been made to frame former Labour deputy leader Chris Cardona through a note conveyed to Yorgen Fenech by his doctor. Moreover, a number of piec- es in the jigsaw remain miss- ing. One glaring gap in inves- tigations is the failure so far to bring the bombmakers to book, despite trails leading in a particular direction. A joint investigation by the Times of Malta and MaltaToday has shown how the Agius brothers, who police believe to be the heads of a dangerous organised crime group, have been iden- tified as part of the conspiracy that supplied the bomb used to assassinate Caruana Galizia in 2017. Abela, who legally repre- sented the brothers, is looking into whether he should abstain from deciding on a presiden- tial pardon that is expected to name his former clients. Abela's balancing act Still, Abela may well be play- ing an intelligent game, avoid- ing frontal confrontation while letting the police do their work. By removing the shield of im- punity, which protected them, he may well have succeeded in eroding blind trust especially with regards to Schembri and Mizzi, who unlike Muscat who remains popular, no longer en- joy the full trust of Labour sup- porters. The fact that Abela could rid himself of Konrad Mizzi who had been elected party depu- ty leader in 2016, without any protest from the rank and file is telling. Abela may well be in- crementally solidifying his grip in the party, without making any sharp political break. The spectre haunting Abela Abela remains averse to any political verdict on the Mus- cat years. That may explain his aversion to a public inquiry which has grilled public offi- cials involved in the admin- istration's most controversial deals. With the judges refusing to back down from extending their own deadline, Abela has issued a statement holding judges responsible for their action, in what could be inter- preted as a veiled threat which could re-ignite civil society protests. This raises the ques- tion: does Abela fear a damning judgement of his predecessor's term in office or is he simply placating diehards by hitting out at the inquiry associated with the Caruana Galizia fam- ily? But in the process Abela risks sending mixed messages to a crowd which still adores Muscat and would not forgive Abela if he touches their idol. In the end, this suggests that impunity may survive in anoth- er form: a political immunity for Muscat from any internal criticism. The problem for Abela re- mains that the party faithful have never received a strong political message from above that aspects of Muscat's lega- cy were problematic and some still blindly trust him. This includes Muscat's ide- ological legacy, which blurred the lines between politics, big business and possibly organised crime. This has filtered down Labour's grassroots amongst those who find nothing wrong in impropriety as long as it con- tributes to economic growth and prosperity. This may well weaken any attempt by Abela to reinvigorate his party's mor- al credentials and may well cre- ate fertile ground for scandal in the future. Yet to Abela's credit 2020 has passed without any new major corruption scandal hitting the Labour party, which suggests that the party has learnt from its mistakes. For now. The appointment of a competent commissioner of police (Angelo Gafà, right) brings the country closer to lifting the shield of impunity for the establishment. Also in the photo: Keith Arnaud, lead investigator in the Caruana Galizia murder probe To Abela's credit 2020 has passed without any new major corruption scandal hitting the Labour party, which suggests that the party has learnt from its mistakes. For now.