Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508940
OPINION 10 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2023 REMEMBER that old Xandir Malta ad, back in the 1980s, that went something like: "I've tasted thousands of wines. That's my job, as a wine-taster"? If so: you're already one up on me. Truth be told – ironically, given that if I'm even mention- ing it in the first place – my own memory of that ad is limited ONLY to the above slogan, and almost nothing else. So much so, that I can't even specify which brand of local wine it was even advertising (ex- cept that it can't possibly have been 'Lachryma Vitis'... for, as I recall: 'That is [NOT] the wine!') Looking back, however, I sud- denly realise that what I remem- ber was not so much the origi- nal ad, itself: but rather, how it was parodied by the satirical TV show 'Ahn'Ahna Jew M'Ahniex', at the time. The spoof-version featured Kevin Drake, in the role of the anonymous 'wine-taster': and after mimicking the above line to perfection, he visibly teetered for a moment... only to add: 'And believe me [hic!] It's one hell of a job!' (before passing out back- wards, with a thump.) Ah, the good old days! You know: when something called 'satire' still actually aired, from time to time, on Malta's national station... But there's another reason - apart from unbridled nostalgia – to to bring that slogan up again, now. Truth be told, I've always wanted to parody it myself... only my version would go something like: "I've witnessed thousands of corruption scandals, in this country. That's my job, as an opinion columnist who often fo- cuses on Maltese politics..." And it would probably contin- ue: "But I've sure never seen a corruption scandal quite as bla- tant, and in-your-face, as the one unfolding before our very eyes, right now; and even less, have I seen (or heard) any Maltese Prime Minister ever reacting to any of those scandals, quite as ASTONISHINGLY as Robert Abela, last Monday." Indeed, our Prime Minister's performance at that press con- ference so utterly... well, AS- TONISHING... that for once, I'm lost for words. [Note: if an- yone can do a better job of de- scribing it, go right ahead. The comments section is open.] Because let's face it, folks: it's not all that very often, that you see a Prime Minister confronted with such irrefutable evidence, of a corruption racket taking place on his own watch (and in- volving one of his most senior Cabinet ministers, to boot)... ... and instead of doing what every other Maltese Prime Min- ister has ever done, before him – i.e., either 'deny the allegation'; or 'deflect the blame' – he simply throws up his hands, and says: "Yup! We did it, all right! And you know what? I'm PROUD that we did it, too! Because that's the way things are SUPPOSED to be done, in a functioning de- mocracy. It's why we even have such things as Cabinet Ministers at all, remember? To ensure that certain hand-picked individuals, here and there, get to be giv- en 'preferential treatment' (in exchange for their continued loyalty and support, naturally); and even to access services and privileges that they are manifest- ly NOT entitled to... and which could conceivably endanger public health and safety, if grant- ed!" And OK: he might not have said all that, in exactly the same words. But believe me [hic!]... that is PRECISELY the substance of everything he said, in that 'as- tonishing' press conference. Nowhere was this more explic- it, than in his own words – quot- ed verbatim, this time – "This is how our political system works. If anyone is saying this should not apply for this country, I DIS- AGREE!" [my emphasis: and yes, folks, he really said that.] Now: at a certain level, I almost feel I ought to congratulate Rob- ert Abela... who may yet go down in history, as the single most brutally HONEST Prime Minis- ter, this country has ever had. At the same time, however... I mean, seriously? Is THAT what our Prime Minister really be- lieves his role (and that of his Ministers) to all along be? Noth- ing but a glorified 'customer care department', to assist cer- tain 'well-connected' people to... erm, how can I even put this?... BREAK THE LAW, with glaring impunity?!! Because if so... in all honesty, he may as well have addressed that press conference wearing a 'KO- RROTT U KBURI!' T-shirt (like I said earlier: it really doesn't get any more 'blatant', and 'in-your- face', than that...) And besides: is it possible that Robert Abela can't see the glar- ing contradiction between his own words, and the evidence that is now in the public domain (where we can all see it quite clearly, with our own two eyes)? One small example, out of many. At one point, Robert Ab- ela gave us a breakdown of how government ministries are (in his own view) 'supposed to func- tion'. "Every ministry – starting with OPM, and working downwards through all the secretariats - has a number of officials employed in its Customer Care Depart- ment: whose job is precisely to assist people in their everyday needs, irrespective of their polit- ical belief or orientation." Erm... ye-e-es, Mr Prime Min- ister. That's all perfectly true. The only snag, however, is that... it's not exactly what happened in this particular case, is it? In fact, you could almost say it's the OP- POSITE of what really happened (according to leaked WhatsApp chats, that – let's be honest – leave us with very little room for 'interpretation'). No, indeed. Those people did not 'pick up the phone, and call the Transport Ministry's Cus- tomer Care Department, to as- sist them with their (legitimate) needs'. Quite the contrary: they BY-PASSED that department, altogether – unsurprisingly, considering that what they were asking for was actually ILLEGAL – and instead, phoned (or text- ed) Transport Minister Ian Borg, to 'facilitate matters for them' in person. But wait, it gets worse. For just like Robert Abela before him, Ian Borg candidly admitted his guilt, when confronted by the evidence: "I hear out people's complaints, and act on them. Everyone speaks to me, from youths to a priest, commercial companies from Żebbuġ to Na- dur - as well as Beppe Fenech Adami. As a minister, I always forwarded these messages to the authority..." Now: for the purposes of this article, I'll overlook Borg's rath- er feeble attempt – which Abela also had a crack at - to 'justify his own wrong-doing, by simply pointing towards similar offenc- es by Nationalist politicians'. (Hate to break it to you, Ian, but... it doesn't actually lessen your own guilt one tiny bit; and you know it.) Instead, I'll simply repeat the question I asked earlier about Robert Abela. Is it even possible that Ian Borg himself can't see how downright 'incriminating' his own statement really is? If so... well, I'm afraid I'm go- ing to have to spell it out to him. 'This is how our political system works', he said... Raphael Vassallo Minister Ian Borg