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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JUNE 2021 NEWS Cool and composed after voting for the Labour motion of censure against Richard Cachia Caruana, then Malta's permanent representative to the EU. After that came his divorce Bill and the ground beneath Lawrence Gonzi's feet shook Waterboy: hot tears and a ferocious display of indignation convinced PN voters JPO was for keeps. The PN won the 2008 election on the back of the Mistragate fight-back by 1,500 votes, which included hounding Alfred Sant and getting him to face JPO JPO's aggressive fightback became the PN's antidote against Labour and he was actually elected on two districts. So had they won because of the JPO ruse or had they narrowly lost because of him? Whatever they say, an instant campaign of discreditation against the 'popular' MP had to begin. Scorned by the PN leader- ship, he embarked on cold revenge. Re- grets, he still has none. His nemesis, Richard Cachia Caruana, is categorically identified as the man who instigated the post-election attacks on the MP. "A person closely linked to the Nationalist Party tried to plant drugs on me during a political event organised in a nightclub," he says, a claim he took to Gonzi and the Commissioner of Police. JPO says it happened after having spoken out against a pet project championed by RCC: the underground museum at the St John's Cathedral, which inspired a La- bour motion that forced Gonzi's hand in shelving the project. "Fellow MPs congratulated me for tor- pedoing the white elephant project, Rich- ard's brainchild." Weeks later, in a meet- ing with RCC, he would tell JPO that "he had taken my Mistra project away from me and I had taken the Co-Cathedral project away from him. We're draw, he had declared – barefacedly. To me, this confirmed that he had a personal interest in the whole thing." Years later, the Wikileaks dump of US embassy cables revealed RCC's shrewd 'band-aid' procedure for Malta to reacti- vate its membership in NATO's Partner- ship for Peace without any parliamentary scrutiny. Labour replied with a motion of censure, so RCC asked to meet up with JPO. The two chatted away at Jeffrey's home, but as he was about to leave, RCC casually brought up the motion, sounding out JPO's intentions due to the bad blood of the past. "I was thinking to myself: are you f...ing serious? First of all, it was incorrect of him to ask about the voting intentions of a parliamentarian, in an obvious attempt at influence him in a matter in which he had a personal interest. Secondly, I was determined to express my disapprov- al of his proclivity to single-handedly take high-level national decisions.... last, but not least, did he think I was stupid enough to give him two weeks' notice of my intentions, and subject myself to an- other dose of virulence from his buddies in the press, and extreme pressure from the party – in an attempt at cowing me into submission?" JPO kept his cards to his chest. On the evening of the motion of censure, he de- clared his intention to vote in favour. "I clearly recall Lawrence turning his head towards me, in shock." In the minutes before their vote, he and fellow MP Jes- mond Mugliett (he abstained) took to the bar for a couple of stiff whiskeys (Franco Debono walked in, declaring he would have voted in favour had he known his in- tentions: "Codswallop!" JPO scoffs, saying Debono made a habit of boasting of his close relationship to RCC). There's more from this treasure trove of memories. JPO's chapter on Daphne connects two phases of his life, his 1980s youth as an anti-Mintoffian hothead (JPO is of mixed political pedigree and goes as far as saying that "a lot of the political violence of the 80s was instigated by the Nationalist Party), and his later politi- cal career. Specifically, he insists on re- membering Daphne as the lanky girl who swung a bollard at a truncheon-bearing officer of the dreaded SMU during one violent encounter of the times. The two had met up in the 2008 Mistra scandal, when DCG ghost-wrote JPO's 'Street-corner gossip' article published on The Times' back page ahead of Sant's big reveal. After the election, instead of jumping in with "hired guns" Ivan Camill- eri, Andrew Borg Cardona and priest Joe Borg in attacks from the press, Daphne revealed to him that "Richard is behind this". (MaltaToday too was independent- ly-minded enough to take JPO apart, without any egging-on from RCC). Here began JPO's remorseless fightback. Perhaps a final morceau from this more- ish read? He extols Joseph Muscat, a "fun- damentally decent" friend as one of the best prime ministers in history, despite his ignominous exit. "Keith Schembri, Joseph's right-hand man, brought the house down... I am convinced that Keith's actions brought about Joseph's resignation." Like his arch-nemesis RCC's hold on Eddie Fenech Adami, Keith Schembri too had his prime minister collared, JPO goes on. But it was Schembri who ultimately validated Caruana Galizia's writings, he says, "including the false and vindictive attacks on her adversaries." As for Jo- seph? Jeffrey is still hoping that history absolves him: "He deserved better." 'With all due respect' by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, is published by Choppy Books (€24.99 hardback, €12.99 paperback) "I clearly recall Lawrence turning his head towards me, in shock."