Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519882
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 MAY 2024 NEWS MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt And the ensuing polarisation clearly undermines any hope that the party will benefit from a low turnout among Labour vot- ers in its bid to elect a third seat and narrow the gap. With polls show no significant shift from the PL to the PN, the best hope for the PN was a depressed turn- out in the Labour heartlands. Moreover, the polarisation could further alienate younger voters appalled by the ensuing blood bath. In this scenario, the PN may have no choice but to go on the offensive, by defending the insti- tutions in the face of an unprec- edented attack on the judiciary. Otherwise, the PN is at the risk of being outflanked by Repubbli- ka and the likes of Jason Azzo- pardi whose life mission is to put Muscat behind bars irrespective of the political cost paid by the party. But judging from his initial re- action, PN leader Bernard Grech is being careful not to personal- ise the issue around the polaris- ing figure of Joseph Muscat. For by going in an over drive the PN risks confirming Abela's insinuation of collusion between the judiciary and the Opposition in undermining a democratically elected Labour government. This may well turn out to be another unresolvable Catch 22 situation for Grech. The more he presses on this issue he risks playing in to Abela's narrative. But if he does not press hard enough, he risks losing his au- thority in the party. Uncharted territory for Grech and Abela Ultimately both parties are try- ing to make the best out of cir- cumstances over which they do not have control. For the judici- ary remains one of the few insti- tutions over which the Labour government has little control. And while the PN has little control over civil society voices opposed to Labour's govern- ance, it is inevitably associated with their antics. At the end of the day, Abe- la may well end up winning a pyrrhic victory, trouncing the PN and on the back of a high- er-than-expected Labour turn- out. But this could well pave the way for a leadership change in PN as he is increasingly em- broiled in a conflict with the ju- diciary, the optics of which could further weaken his government's rule of law credentials. But as an astute politician who while lacking in vision, excels in the art of political survival on a day-to-day basis, Abela may well surprise everyone by distancing himself from Muscat the day after reclaiming the party's su- per majority. After all, Abela has a track record of backtracking whenever his back is against the wall. The question is whether Abela will be able to reign in his dogs after letting them out in a bid to save his own political skin. The chances are that Abela will once again be in debt to a predecessor who will emerge even stronger if Labour retains its super ma- jority in an election turned ref- erendum on his larger-than-life stature. to trump card? FORMER Labour prime minis- ter Joseph Muscat has claimed some of the country's institu- tions are "working against La- bourites" and hit out an 'estab- lishment' that was taking out a political vendetta on him and the country. Muscat, the subject of a poten- tial prosecution on a five-year magisterial inquiry in the priva- tisation of three Maltese hospi- tals from his time as prime min- ister, accused his detractors of attempting to "jam the workings of the government" by pursuing the criminal complaint on the Vitals hospitals privatisation. He was giving a press confer- ence at the Excelsior Hotel after a court of criminal appeal con- firmed that the magisterial in- quiry had been handed over to the Attorney General. Muscat expressed scepticism at the choice of the date in which Magistrate Gabriella Vella had filed her conclusions. "This case has taken five years, millions of euros, and only after another judge said steps would be taken unless this inquiry is finalised, together with indications of Re- pubblika's prior knowledge of the inquiry's outcome, shows this entire process has been vi- tiated." The conclusion of the magiste- rial inquiry into the sale of three public hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare, was delivered to the Attorney General on 25 April. Muscat has previously peti- tioned to the courts to remove the inquiring magistrate Gabri- ella Vella, claiming bias shown by the family members of the magistrate showed her judge- ment had been compromised. The former Labour leader once again insisted he would face any form of justice without any fear, saying that his family and him- self were prepared for the pro- cess, but that he would ensure his persecutors will answer for their actions. "Should I be freed from any accusations, I will make sure to seek damages from those responsible for this perse- cution," Muscat said. Muscat also said that elements inside the court were historically aligend with a Nationalist estab- lishment. "The PN and Repub- blika criticise the AG constant- ly… certainly any prosecution against me by the AG would do me no favours. Yes, the magis- trate has acted politically. But I have trust in other members of the judiciary." His lawyer Charlon Gouder said Muscat was never indicat- ed as a suspect in the complaint filed to the courts by the NGO Repubblika on the hospitals privatisation, pointing towards constitutional shortcomings in the way the inquiry was carried out. Gouder claimed that the in- quiry had been tainted by the po- litical allegiances of Magistrate Vella's family members and the statements they made on social media about the inquiry. "This inquiry has been polluted by this bias, and because of this lack of trust in the magistrate, together with the ongoing cases on con- stitutional breaches, should have stayed the conclusion of the in- quiry." Gouder said Muscat was never asked to testify before this in- quiry, despite his wish to do so. 78 boxes of evidence had been sent together with the inquiry to the AG, and while no informa- tion about the outcome of the inquiry has emerged, the hostile stance adopted by Prime Min- ister Robert Abela last Sunday suggests an unfavourable out- come for his party. Abela accused the judiciary of "political terrorism", a statement repeated by Muscat to reporters as he entered the law courts on Tuesday morning. News of the magisterial inquiry being filed on 25 April, the day nominations for the European elections were opened, irked Muscat's allies like Jason Mi- callef, the chairman of the Val- letta Cultural Agency. "The prime minister was right… four years and a half to conclude this inquiry, which is then finalised and sent to the AG on the day nominations for a European election open, and the start of an electoral campaign. No to political persecution and political terrorism," Micallef said. Muscat had previously toyed with a bid for an MEP's seat, which he never took up. Mi- callef, a supporter of Muscat, likened the possible prosecution of the former PM to the inter- dict issued by the Catholic arch- diocese against the Labour Party in the 1960s. "Thousands of La- bourites resisted it. 65 years later we will resist this persecution." Muscat: 'Magistrate acted politically' Joseph Muscat addressed the press at the Excelsior Hotel As a master in the art of political survival, Robert Abela knows that ditching Muscat right in the middle of a campaign would be political suicide