Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1513668
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 DECEMBER 2023 Looking back 2023 MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Merry Christmas The Muscat machine: humming in the background DISLIKE Joseph Muscat all you want, but the erstwhile Labour prime minister and leader has a brand to curate and he will do it to the best of his abilities. Bereft of the laudatory party machine he once commanded, Muscat's stock is no longer what it once was: his net asset value has decreased, much of the old good- will too, but his metrics and ra- tios always look positive when he makes his mediatic appearances. Damaged by an ongoing magis- terial inquiry that could suggest some sort of criminal action over his role in the Vitals procurement fiasco, or perhaps on a series of financial transactions that took place through third parties after he stepped down as PM, Muscat has used his solo performances to his benefit. And 2023 was not be- reft of mediatic performances. Inside the parliamentary public accounts committee, he parried with the Opposition yet again to defend Labour's energy project – the Delimara gas plant built by Electrogas, and the man accused of ordering the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Gali- zia. But in the court of public opin- ion, a party soldier – Manuel Cuschieri – keeps broadcasting his old master's voice. On Smash TV, Muscat sits down for easy interviews which allow him to craft what he knows best: a deft message that can be easily under- stood, believed, rationalised and repeated. When the time comes, he can depend on a loyal cadre of Labour voters who will de- fend him outside the courtroom, should he ever tread its doorstep as a defendant. Dog-whistle politics It is the classic Muscat playbook: dog-whistle politics for loyal sup- porters, and a challenge to his ad- versaries. Time and again he has attacked the magisterial inquiry led by Gabriella Vella, launched from a Repubblika complaint, as a dirty game to see him hauled in court. "I know I have the people's support, and even if I'm left alone to fight it, they would have wasted two years of my life for nothing to happen," Muscat says, confident there was nothing to incriminate him. His detractors, he has called "freemasons", an establishment connected to the 'blue' togas. "They know I took from them their entitlement to stay in pow- er... it's been the destiny of all Labour leaders, because Labour is the party of those who came from nothing. Mintoff, the son of a cook. Sant, the son of a civil serv- ant. Me, the son of a salesman." A fireworks importer of some wealth, actually. "They cannot win democratically, so they weaponise the judiciary." Muscat accuses Vella of running an inquiry that leaks like a sieve, saying her family are supporters of Repubblika active on social media. He also accuses public healthcare doctors who also run private sur- geries, of being opponents to the healthcare PPP he tried setting up with Vitals, and later Steward. "It's doctors who run the system, and you know how some doctors want their patients to be seen by them 'privately' to keep accessing the public healthcare system." Muscat accuses them of resisting changes to "epochal, bad habits." "Nobody can interfere with them. Mintoff tried it, the doc- tors striked, then Karin Grech was murdered, because of her father Edwin Grech, who was socially boycotted. He died without ever seeing justice... when someone was assassinated in our time, we saw arraignments." Muscat's interviews are strate- gic: deny any alleged malfeasance, compare like-with-like for previ- ous Nationalist administrations, and undermine accusers. For ex- ample, if he got paid a handsome consultancy fee from Accutor, once connected to Vitals Global Healthcare, he denies it is a kick- back: "Some legal genius wants me to disprove their accusations... just as if finding a knife in my kitchen is evidence that I intend killing someone." Muscat can always turn to the Egrant affair when needed, given that the magisterial inquiry dis- proved his ownership of a secret Panama offshore company. In- deed, that is why he dubs the Vi- tals magisterial inquiry his 'second Egrant'. There is so much speculation that Muscat might one day return to politics, or that his wife could consider a stab at the general elec- tions. But time and time again, he has said he will give Robert Abela the space he needs. While politics can serve as a buffer from criminal prosecution, especially the kind that is por- trayed as politically tendentious, it seems the Muscats are keener on keeping their branding machine humming in the background. Joseph Muscat at the Public Accounts Committee (left) and on Manoel Cuschieri's Smash TV programme