Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462122
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MARCH 2022 OPINION 11 Abusive continuity What reality do you want to wake up to next Sunday? THE distribution of multiple cheques to every household by the Labour government on the eve of the general election is more than abusing the power of incumbency. Through the said distribution, the power of incumbency is being trans- formed into a corrupt practice, specifically intended to unduly influence voters. What, in normal circum- stances should be a simple ad- ministrative act is being trans- formed into blatant political propaganda, at public expense, straight into your letterbox. A covering letter signed by Robert Abela and Clyde Caruana says it all. A Banana Republic in all but name! Why should such handouts be distributed on the eve of elec- tions if not to influence voters? Even if one were to accept that such handouts are acceptable, it is certainly not in any way justi- fiable to plan their distribution specifically on the eve of an election. This goes against the basic principles of good gov- ernance. The power of incumbency is the executive power of a gov- ernment seeking re-election. Incumbents always have an ad- vantage. The manner in which they handle it defines their gov- ernance credentials. This has been a government characterised by bad govern- ance throughout its term in office. Right from the very be- ginning, on 13 March 2013. I consider the full nine years as one continuum. This was rein- forced by Robert Abela himself who emphasised that his lead- ership of the Labour Party seeks to continue the "achievements" of his predecessor and mentor Joseph Muscat. Continuity was his declared mission. On its first days in office, La- bour started off on its Panama tracks. The secret Panama com- panies set up by Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri and someone else, known as the (mysterious) owner of Egrant, went on to rock Labour over the years. The Electrogas saga and its link to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia inter- twined with the Panama deba- cle. It is now clearly established that the assassination of Daph- ne Caruana Galizia was directly linked to her investigative jour- nalism. Her investigations led her to identify the governance credentials of various holders of political office and their links with big business. Defining their relationship as being too close for comfort would be a gross understatement. As emphasised in the inves- tigation report on the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassina- tion, over the years, a culture of impunity has developed in these islands. This has led to misbehaviour in public office being normalised. It has also led to considerable resistance in the shouldering of politi- cal responsibility by holders of political office, whenever they were caught with their hand in the cookie jar! Rosianne Cutajar and Justyne Caruana being the latest examples, as amply prov- en by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life George Hyzler. To add insult to injury Cutajar and Caruana were the recipi- ents of generous termination benefits, notwithstanding that their term of political office ended in disgrace. Caruana re- ceived terminal benefits twice in the span of a short time, as she established a national re- cord of resigning twice from Robert Abela's Cabinet! With this track record one should not have expected oth- erwise from the Muscat/Abela administration. With the abusive distribution of cheques on the eve of the general election Labour's cur- rent term is approaching a fit- ting end. The Labour Party in govern- ment has consistently acted abusively. Robert Abela has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor and mentor Joseph Muscat. Continuity has been ensured, as promised. Carmel Cacopardo is chairperson of ADPD and a candidate on the 4th and 9th districts Carmel Cacopardo THE 2022 General Election is set for next Saturday, and your vote, like mine, counts. It's our vote that determines the reality to which we will all wake up a week from today. The headlines on next week's newspaper will set the tone for the coming five years, and my column won't be in there (I'll be taking a three-day hiatus from everything). By then, the result will likely have been announced and my fate will be sealed. But more importantly, so will yours. Personal achievements aside, there is only one question that really matters in the end – what do you want to see when you wake up next Sunday? Do you remember after the Brexit vote, how so many people – an estimated 1.2 million voters – according to surveys conduct- ed at the time, had so many re- grets (playfully dubbed Bregrets) for not going home to vote, for using their vote to make a point by way of protest for the issues that were prevalent at the time, for being too hungover to get out of bed to vote, etc.? Do you remember how the same thing happened when America woke up to the news of Trump's presidency in 2016? So many people have since told stories about how they were sure he wouldn't make it, they were sure that their vote not being cast wouldn't make such a big difference. Once again, they were wrong. Because the truth is that one person's vote can make all the difference, and we are luckier than these people in one important way – we have the magic of hindsight. Hindsight allows us to course correct, to rectify and amend before we're too late. Hindsight also affords us some glimpse into the future through a com- parative exercise between what was promised by Labour in government and which of those promises was actually carried through. As part of a debate recently, I was discussing the environment with a Labour candidate. She be- gan to reel off the positives, and with a look of incredulity (ech- oed by my eyebrows that betray my every thought and feeling), I asked her whether she believes that Labour's environmental promises (splashed all over bill- boards in 2013) promising a Labour government where "the environment truly becomes a priority" were true. Had Labour really made the environment a priority over the past decade? Somehow with a straight face, she said that they had. I can't begin to comprehend the level of mental gymnastics that must take, to get to a point in one's life that has exposed you to so many lies that you start to con- sider them truths. But, the envi- ronment aside. How many more corrupt deals do we need to see? How many more stories about phantom jobs, nepotism, cro- nyism, lack of transparency in the tendering and procurement process, etc. do we need to read about? How many more instances must we be privy to of a society that consistently prioritises the enrichment of the inner circle at the expense of the destruction of the very backbone of our society? How many more scandals, front page headlines decrying the con- duct of yet another member of Joseph/Robert's Abela/Muscat's cabinet do we need before apply- ing what we've learnt in the de- termination of how to vote next Saturday? People tend to say that it's 'neg- ative' to point out certain reali- ties. As Franco Debono so right- ly said during a recent interview, that somehow it is now consid- ered 'bad form' to call someone a liar, but he pointed out that someone who's lying is in fact a liar. This isn't negativity, this is re- alism. These are the real consid- erations one must make when choosing who should govern for the next five years. 'Negativity' is a term that Labour like to weap- onise to counter very legitimate concerns surrounding the way they govern. Do not let anyone call you negative for pointing out truths. We must ALL be pointing out the realities that have existed and that continue to exist with Labour at the helm. In a world where hindsight is a gift and a blessing, where we are forced to plan as best we can and make difficult decisions for our future, we have been afforded a warning. Voting and using your voice have never been more im- portant. Hindsight shows us that Americans had to spend four years watching the news as a leader many thought to be a joke ran so many good people into despair. Hindsight has shown us the UK shut its doors on peo- ple's futures and blindsided their economy. How would the world look now if everyone had voted responsibly in these countries, how would it look if they'd had the gift of hindsight that we have now? To paraphrase Jay-Z: I got 99 problems, but regret won't be one of them. I know I'm voting for real change, a Malta where scandals aren't the order of the day and mediocrity isn't par for the course. I'm voting for a Malta where young people don't want to leave our shores in droves. I'm voting for a real, tangible, responsibly developed and creative vision. I'm voting for a prime minister that will bring Malta into the fu- ture - a future that is economi- cally sound, but also one that is socially responsible and leaves no one behind to fend for them- selves. I'm voting for a future where Bernard Grech and his team of incredibly capable people from a myriad of backgrounds can be- gin to rebuild the tenements of our country, like Partit Nazzjon- alista in government has done so many times before. So once again I ask you, what reality do you want to wake up to next Sunday? Will we be an- other tale of regret, mentioned as an anecdote at parties around the world amid conversations of corruption and dreary futures, or will we have taken charge of our own fate and been on the right side of history? See you at the voting booth. Emma Portelli Bonnici Emma Portelli Bonnici is a lawyer and PN candidate on the 9th and 10th districts emma@emmaportellibonnici.com