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9 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 JANUARY 2022 irrespective of whether it is led by Labour or by the Nationalists. But with Labour set to win the next election with a large margin, the PN may strategically view such laws as a way of weakening the next administration and even curb Abela's power of incumbency. In fact, one of the laws is aimed at limiting the power of incum- bency, a power used by past PN governments but which reached new levels before the 2017 elec- tion, when an average of 38 plan- ning permits were issued every day during the campaign. Yet such a reading ignores the unprecedented circumstances in which Abela found himself at the helm, following the resigna- tion of Joseph Muscat after the arrest of Tumas magnate Yor- gen Fenech on murder charges, and revelations that his offshore secret companies were connect- ed to similar structures owned by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. Following this political earth- quake, many expected a thorough reform of Maltese democracy. Yet, while Abela did introduce positive reforms related to judicial, police and presidential appointments, he refrained from addressing the nexus between organised crime, politics and big business. Abela had two full years to pres- ent his own anti-corruption pack- age but for some reason failed to do so. Neither did he move on this front immediately following the conclusion of the public inquiry on Caruana Galizia's assassination in July. One may argue that the task at hand deserves more serious deliberation and public discussion than a raft of bills on the eve of an election by an Opposition party in desperate need of scoring political points. To avoid this Abela may well have delegated this responsibility to a constituent assembly, entrust- ed with the sole task of enacting the far-reaching recommenda- tions made in the public inquiry. One way of ensuring democrat- ic legitimacy and avoid partisan wrangling would be to restrict membership of the assembly to independents elected without the expressed backing of political par- ties. Such an assembly could have even raised issues left untouched by the PN, including party financ- ing laws. Yet instead of seizing the day, by taking ownership over a reform process which addresses the shortcomings exposed by the conspiracy to murder Caruana Galizia, Abela has left the initiative to the Opposition. In short, Abela's greatest short- coming was to fail to recognise the need of a national awakening in the face of the greatest challenge to democracy posed by a cabal, which had hijacked his own party. And by warning that such laws could paralyse the economy, Ab- ela seems to be hinting that Malta is so corrupt that it is better not to upset the apple cart. The appointment of a special inquiring magistrate entrusted with prosecuting corruption allegation is something first pro- posed by Labour in the 1990s. It would simply mean a respected magistrate enjoying the trust of a President elected by a two-thirds majority, would have the power to commence investigations on his or her own steam With its raft of 12 different leg- islative proposals the PN seemed more interested in showing off its rule of law credentials and embar- rassing Labour before the election, than in ensuring a meaningful dis- cussion on each single bill. In this sense Abela was part- ly right in describing the reform package as an electoral gimmick. But the best way to neutralise this would be for Abela to take ownership of these bills by pre- senting amendments aimed at strengthening them rather then neutering them. He can plausibly claim that it was Nationalist gov- ernments who failed to enact such laws in their long spell in office. He can also do justice with his own party's strong anti-corrup- tion stance under former leader Alfred Sant, who had himself pro- posed the appointment of a spe- cial inquiring magistrate in 1997 more than two decades before the PN proposals. Unfortunately, Abela seems keener in limiting the damage caused by his predecessor than in presiding over a Maltese spring characterised by ambitious and forward-looking reforms. Under the watchful eyes of FATF and other international moni- tors, Abela cannot afford to send the message that he is more interested in partisan games than in buttressing Maltese democracy against organised crime. Therefore Abela is bound to come up with a counter proposal Abela knows that following the FATF greylisting and the extra scrutiny accorded to Malta fol- lowing the assassination of a jour- nalist, he cannot afford to shoot down the PN proposals in their entirety without sounding com- placent and unwilling to grab the bull by its horns. And while corruption is not an election winner, Abela can actu- ally strengthen Labour's majority among MOR voters by taking the initiative on this front from the Opposition. In fact Abela may be less bellig- erent then he sounds. For while shooting down the proposals in front of supporters, he also com- mitted himself to engage in the prospective debate on the Oppo- sition's private members bill. And if the bills get an actual hearing, Abela may be astute enough to re- alise that he has to seize the initia- tive from the Opposition. Yet in the final instance Abela will have to choose between hav- ing the bills discussed, amended and approved before the election or ensuring procedural delays, which would effectively abort their passage in this legislature. If Abela chooses the first path, he risks being accused of neutering the most radical anti-corruption bills presented in the last decades. And while it may appear rich for a compromised party like the PN to champion the anti-corruption cause, with Malta under the spot- light Abela needs to convince that on this vital issue he is on the right side of history. International scrutiny apart, it is the Maltese public which deserves a new deal which ensures that cor- ruption and mafia-like association does not give anyone an unfair ad- vantage over law-abiding citizens. EMPLOYMENT POSITION EUROPEAN UNION FUNDS Applications are invited for the position of: The position requires formal qualifications and relevant work experience. Applications are received only through the Online Government Recruitment Portal (https://recruitment.gov.mt), by not later than Friday 28th January 2022 at 5:15pm (Central European Time). Further details are available in the Government Gazette of 14th January 2022. Programme Officer (EU Funds)