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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 APRIL 2023 Abela needs to shock the system Editorial IT'S only been a year since the Labour Party was returned to power with another blistering majority that Robert Abela can call his own. But a year is an eternity in politics; and just 12 months later, the Prime Minister must now take stock of the situa- tion. The Rosianne Cutajar saga ended with her resignation from the Labour Party parliamentary group, just before the executive was going to be motioned by Abela to kick her out. It took Abela time to decide what should be done with Cutajar. His initial reaction was to de- scribe the published WhatsApp chats as 'misog- ynistic'; until he realised that the content could not simply be brushed off as 'old hat', for which Cutajar had already 'paid a political price'. While most of what the chats contained had al- ready been revealed, in some way or another, over the past few years, they also contained a damning indictment of the Muscat years. Cutajar implied that everyone – not just herself - was 'pigging out at the trough'. It is this comment – which, in Cutajar's case, resulted in a consultancy with the Institute of Tourism Studies – that irked a lot of people, in- cluding diehard Labour Party supporters. Abela was reacting to the backlash when he finally decided that Cutajar had to go. His hesita- tion gave Cutajar the space to make the decision herself before she was kicked out. In the short-term, Abela appears as a person unable to directly confront his own MPs and ask them to shoulder responsibility when things go wrong. It is probably a characteristic of his to allow situations to resolve themselves with some nudging and pushing; but no open confrontation. But in the long-term – when the nitty gritty of how Cutajar stepped away from the PL are for- gotten - history will judge Abela as the leader on whose watch people like Cutajar and Konrad Miz- zi stopped being millstones around the Labour Party's neck. It remains a shame, however, that Cutajar chose to stay on as an MP: something nobody has con- trol over, except herself. Nonetheless, the Cutajar shenanigans are but one of the woes hounding Abela's administration. Her case came hot on the heels of the Steward Health Care hospitals concession debacle, after the courts cancelled the contract on the basis of fraud and unfulfilled commitments. But while the hospitals deal is part of Muscat's negative legacy, the Cutajar embarrassment could have easily been avoided had she been prevented from contesting the last general election with the PL. These issues, and other more pressing concerns about the rising cost of foodstuffs and services, have taken their toll on the Abela administration. At a time of global economic uncertainty, where rumblings from the Finance Minister point to some form of belt-tightening over the coming months, 'pigging out' by politicians is the last thing any honest citizen would want to see. Alfred Mifsud - former chairman of ONE, the PL's media arm - deftly captured the mood in an opinion piece last week: "Even if their wealth came from perfectly legitimate sources, Labour representatives should be careful not to project a perception of prioritising luxury over values." This holds true for those Labour politicians who flaunt their lavish lifestyles on social media: oblivious of the rancour this creates among sec- tions of the electorate, whose life is a continuous struggle. It is only worse if these lavish lifestyles become possible through 'pigging out' at the taxpayer's expense; and outright criminal, if the result of corrupt behaviour. Within this context Abela needs to shock the system. He must have an honest and brutal sit- down session with his parliamentary group, on the shortcomings that have eroded trust over the past 12 months. The results of three surveys, showing a decline in support for the PL, should weigh down heavily on the MPs. A strong dose of humility is urgently needed. New ground rules on ethical behaviour must be laid down and etched into clear and transparent policies. The rules must extend to the spouses and immediate family members of MPs. The Prime Minister must also end the legalised practice of having MPs employed as chairpersons of executive authorities; or enjoying income from government entities. And he must take the bold step to open honest discussions with the Opposi- tion to change the political party financing law to ensure its effectiveness. In Alfred Mifsud's words: "Wasting political capital is accepting with impunity gross depar- tures from the values that Labour stand for, es- pecially the values of spending public funds with proper governance which must be upheld at all times on the principle of adhering or explaining in full transparency." Abela may also want to consider reshuffling his Cabinet: although this will have to happen next year if Chris Fearne is nominated as Malta's next European Commissioner. More importantly, there is need for a sober analysis of policy decisions that lead to visible de- liverables in areas such as the environment; prop- er enforcement across all sectors; swifter judicial processes; better motivated workforces in the medical, educational and law enforcement fields. Abela must act swiftly, to ensure his adminis- tration's 'winter of discontent' does not drag on indefinitely. 10 April 2013 Opposition will not be 'bribed by government' PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil said he ex- pected the Labour government to return the Op-position's readiness to cooperate by treat- ing the Opposition with respect. "We will not allow the government to bribe the Opposition by accepting any exec- utive roles offered to us," Busuttil said in his maiden speech to the House. "I cannot understand why Joseph Muscat wants to appoint Nationalist MPs to execu- tive po-sitions. As far as I know in a normal democracy, the government has the right and duty to govern and the Opposition has the duty to watch over the government," he said. Likening the proposal to the way African governments operate, Busuttil said: "In a strong democracy, the Opposition holds the government accountable and therefore I am concerned at the Prime Minister's proposal because if he gives executive powers to the Opposition we will end up with a one party system and nobody will be in Opposition." He added that the Opposition could give a contribution by having Opposition members sit on government boards as they already do at MEPA, in a transparent and accountable way, "appointed by the leader of the Opposi- tion and not by the Prime Minister to divide and rule." In a clear reference to former GWU offi- cial Mario Cutajar, lawyer Ramona Frendo and un-ionist John Bencini but without mentioning any names, Busuttil said that Labour's claims that it would be applying meritocracy in all appointments proved to be false. "The government's appointments dished out to who endorsed Labour by appearing on bill-boards or addressing mass meetings claiming that Labour would apply meritoc- racy," Busut-til said. While Cutajar was appointed head of the civil service, Frendo was appointed on the justice reform commission and Bencini was appointed MCESD chairperson. Busuttil pointed out the Opposition's deci- sion to vote in favour of the budget "because it is in the national interest." ... Quote of the Week "How can we even talk about the links between big business and politics if we cannot enforce basic legislation regulating party financing which remains our only mechanism to tackle this problem?" Former PN MP Franco Debono on Malta's lack of an effective mechanism to enforce the political party financing law MaltaToday 10 years ago