Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1426475
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 NOVEMBER 2021 OPINION When will MPs start acting honourably? I was very busy with other com- mitments this week so I have not been following current events as much as I usually do. How- ever, on Wednesday it did not take long for my phone to start pinging with messages asking me whether I was watching the livestream of Konrad Mizzi as he appeared in front of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. A quick scan of so- cial media and news sites was enough to give me the general gist that the whole thing seemed to have descended into a sham- bles. I eventually watched a few minutes of it and it told me all I needed to know. Hysterics, shouting, insults, mockery and sneers character- ised the proceedings – and this was without members of the PAC even asking a single ques- tion, let alone having the chance to grill the former energy min- ister. In fact, the whole 90 min- utes were taken up by Mizzi who launched into a long-winded deposition, with chairman Beppe Fenech Adami and members of the Opposition ending up being embroiled in partisan rhetoric, finger pointing, name-calling, accusations and counter-accusa- tions. It looked like one of those Xarabank episodes where every- one talks at once, the person with the loudest voice and most relentless monologue technique mows everyone down and you can barely understand what is being said. From where I stand the person who came off looking the worst in the whole thing was Konrad Mizzi himself. He might have thought he was impressing his constituents who probably con- tinue to applaud this brazen, outlandish behaviour ("Go on Konrad, show 'em you won't back down!), but in the eyes of the rest of the population, it was a shameful circus. This man, who should have resigned as soon as his name was linked to a secret offshore company in the Panama Papers, has not only remained in the public eye and in public office (albeit now as an Independent MP) but will obsti- nately not give an inch. By refus- ing to appear in front of the PAC no less than four times, he sim- ply confirmed his arrogance and that he feels he is not answerable to anyone. Except, of course, the reality is that he is very much answerable to us, the taxpayers who contribute to the nation's coffers, and the voters who put him there. When he finally deigned to appear in front of the PAC this week, he continued to demon- strate how completely out of touch he is with the way many people perceive him, by launch- ing into that tirade of one and a half hours. I don't know if this man is delusional and still believes he really did nothing wrong, or if he thought attack was the best form of defence, or whether he feels that he has so much popular backing that everything will be forgiven and he will eventually be allowed back into the Labour Party. Whatever the possible explana- tion for his behaviour, the sight of him screaming, shooting from the hip and turning the PAC into a platform to vent his own per- sonal grudge against the Oppo- sition members present was em- barrassing to watch. "You think you are royalty," Mizzi yelled at Beppe Fenech Adami, "because your father was Prime Minister and made himself President". What is he, 12 years old? Having said that, in his role as chairman, Fenech Adami should also have risen above it all and restrained himself and not re- sorted to comments such as: "You are toxic, you are tainted, nobody wants to touch you," which simply added fuel to the fire. Unless of course, it was his intention all along to get Konrad all riled up, pushing his buttons and triggering the outbursts in that old trick lawyers like to use to discredit a witness on the stand. There should also have been a cut-off point for this disposition because without any time for questions to be asked, it ended up being a complete waste of time. Apparently, although it was pointed out to him that a January 2019 ruling by Speaker Anġlu Farrugia limited witness statements to a maximum of 10 minutes, Mizzi ploughed on. How can this be allowed to hap- pen? Surely the chairman was duty-bound to cut off his mike and make sure the grilling ac- tually started? Otherwise what is the point of being the chair? (Again, unless this was a delib- erate tactic to let Konrad hang himself with his own rope, so to speak). In the British tradition, our Members of Parliament are re- ferred to as 'The Honourable', but there was nothing remotely honourable in that display. Kon- rad Mizzi may have been stung by the fact that he had to sit there and be scrutinised by peo- ple whom he considers his nem- esis, but well, that's what you get when you do not conduct your- self ethically as a representative of the people. That's what you get when you are accused of cor- ruption in the handling of one of Malta's most expensive, nation- ally significant contracts dealing with the crucial energy sector. If Mizzi was feeling humili- ated by being called to appear in front of the PAC maybe he should have thought of that be- fore all his dubious wheeling and dealing as a Politically Exposed Person which got him into this mess in the first place. Mizzi's histrionics were com- pletely out of line and have no place in Parliament (or any- where else for that matter). The Opposition was doing its job, in the same way that Labour did its job when it was in Opposition and sat on the very same com- mittee, scrutinising government contracts. That is how our de- mocracy works. Just because he was elected as an MP when La- bour swept to power and subse- quently given a Cabinet post on the basis of his promises to rev- olutionise Malta's energy sector, this does not cloak Mizzi with an invincible mantle, making him an untouchable. If, after all this time, Mizzi has still not grasped that his role in Government opened him up to this type of grilling, because he has to be held accountable for his every action, then he really should have never left the private sector. It bears repeating time and time again: don't go into politics if you are of the belief that you can keep behaving the way you did when you were a private citi- zen when what you did was your own business and no one had the right to interfere in what you do. It simply does not work that way; nor should it. This is of particular impor- tance when one is referring to undeclared assets, tax and VAT evasion and the even more se- rious implications of corrupt practices while in office. Secret offshore companies are also a no-no (although I cannot believe this really has to be pointed out). But as always, I keep wondering whether there are sections of the public which think nothing of such unethical behaviour in pol- itics because for them it is par for the course. "Everyone does it" is the cliched phrase; ergo why should we bat an eye if a politi- cian does it? There is a similar reaction when you bring up the issue of politicians putting their supporters on the Government pay roll (the civil service or other public sector jobs) when an elec- tion starts looming…to some people this is blatantly wrong, but the majority will reply with, "u ajma, all administrations have done it, since the beginning of time!" I don't know if this type of lais- sez-faire mentality towards what is morally and ethically wrong can ever be fully eradicated, but I also believe that throwing up our hands and giving up is not an option. That is why institu- tions like the PAC are vital, and why someone like Konrad Mizzi needs to face the music and not be allowed to treat it with disre- spect and disdain. Josanne Cassar Konrad Mizzi (centre) flanked by his lawyers Jean Paul Sammut (left) and former magistrate Carol Peralta (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)