Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1399957
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 AUGUST 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO LABOUR'S reaction to a wit- ty Nationalist Party billboard mocking Edward Zammit Lew- is for his disparaging reference to the 'ġaħan Laburist' in a WhatsApp chat with million- aire tycoon and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech was predict- able: a billboard mocking the sanctimonious Jason Azzopar- di (complete with halo) for a Hilton hotel freebie he solicited from the Tumas Group in 2017 when visiting Israel. Crucially, although the freebie consisted in hotel accommo- dation solicited from Yorgen Fenech's uncle Ray Fenech, the billboard depicts Azzopardi ex- pressing his gratitude directly to Yorgen Fenech – suggesting that, Yorgen Fenech and his family's financial empire are indeed one and the same thing. The equivalence made in the billboard between Yorgen and his family prompts the ques- tion: if Yorgen and his family are the same thing, is Mal- ta then still buying its energy from Yorgen Fenech (he is an Electrogas shareholder, and so is the Tumas Group...) and is any permit issued to the Tumas Group, a gift to the murder sus- pect himself? Truly, the Tumas Group does have a history under both ad- ministrations of benefitting from changing goalposts, such as the handing-over of public land at a pittance by a PN-led administration. Indeed, one of the root cause for the sickness afflicting the Maltese republic is the deference to big moneyed interests, exposed in the pa- thetic deference shown in Zam- mit Lewis' WhatsApp chats, and which despite all billboard references to Fenech, remains intact. The PN as an alibi for Labour In this case the most problem- atic aspect of Labour's billboard is that it still seeks absolution for its deference to big business interests, by hitting out at Na- tionalist hypocrisy. Labour may bank on the fact that this tactic has worked in the past. Back in 2016, Labour's imme- diate reaction to Panamagate was to erect billboards high- lighting Anne Fenech's role in a legal firm which held director- ships in Panama companies reg- istered by clients. In hindsight, Labour would be in a very dif- ferent position today had it ex- pelled Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri at that stage rather than hitting out at PN hypocri- sy. It would probably still have won its superlative electoral majorities but would have also gained an edge over the PN on the single issue which the Op- position could exploit. Surely the PN's actions when in government do provide La- bour with the perfect alibi for its own nefarious sins. This is one major reason why the cor- ruption issue failed to swing votes in 2017 when memo- ries of PN misdeeds were still fresh. The reason for this is that pre-2013 Malta was far from a showcase for good governance and voters have a natural incli- nation to recoil from sanctimo- nious declarations from people who act otherwise when not under the radar. In this instance Jason Azzo- pardi fits the bill perfectly as one of the foremost critics of Labour's corrupt dealings and lawyer of the Caruana Galizia family, who had no qualms in asking a favour from the Tumas Group. And while the favour solicited by Azzopardi pre-dat- ed news that Yorgen Fenech owned 17 Black (unlike Zam- mit Lewis's intimacy with Yor- gen on WhatsApp), Azzopar- di's actions simply contrasted with his self-styled crusading role. One may well say that had Azzopardi not existed, Labour would have had to invent him to deflect much more serious accusations. Muscatian tactics in the age of Abela Yet the tactics adopted under Muscat before 2021 may not be so effective today, not just in terms of winning elections but also in rallying the party behind Abela in his bid to distance himself from the Muscat era. As amply demonstrated in the billboard tit-for-tat, Labour still banks on Nationalist hypocrisy to divert attention from criticism of its intimacy with big business. But does lashing out at double standards help in fixing the broken republic? Thank you Yorgen Grazzi gahan Tit for tat: top, a PN billboard lampoons Edward Zammit Lewis who referred to 'Labour fools' (gahan Laburist) in a conversation with Yorgen Fenech; below, Jason Azzopardi had availed himself of a freebie for a Tel Aviv hotel stay at a Hilton hotel, courtesy of Tumas Group's Ray Fenech