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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 • 2 JUNE 2024 Labour at a crossroads Editorial WHEN Alfred Sant became leader of the Labour Party following the 1992 electoral drubbing, one of his first moves was to rid the party from its violent and corrupt elements. It was a moment of reckoning for a party that allowed violence and corruption to gradually obscure the social progress it achieved for the country after the 1971 election victory. The party was at a crossroads and Sant took the bold decisions to eject those people who used the party for their own malign ends at the ex- pense of the country's wellbeing. It was a mo- ment of reckoning. Today, the PL is at another crossroads. Its for- mer leader Joseph Muscat, and two of his most trusted aides, stand charged with corruption, bribery and forming a criminal organisation while in public office. The situation is unprecedented. Never has this country seen a former prime minister being charged with such serious crimes. Millions of euros of taxpayer money were spent on a hospitals deal that delivered nothing tangi- ble for the people but only served as a vehicle for enrichment of the few. Unfortunately, the manner by which the La- bour Party – and here we refer specifically to the party and its structures – has dealt with the de- velopments has been abysmal. Instead of introspection we have witnessed misplaced exuberance; instead of taking bold in- ternal steps to distance itself from the shenani- gans of those accused with such serious crimes we have witnessed a party embracing the pop- ulist follies of a former leader who claims inno- cence and ignorance. Instead of carrying out meaningful soul search- ing we have seen party functionaries and MEP candidates fall head over heels to defend wrong- doing and protect those who fell from grace. Unfortunately, Robert Abela has shown a lack of leadership. Saying that his opening to Jo- seph Muscat in January, when he called him 'my friend', was an error of judgement is a gross un- derstatement. Indeed, Abela opened the window to let in a breeze in the belief it would energise the grass roots and found himself dealing with a whirl- wind he cannot control. Abela's reaction to the Vitals hospitals inquiry and the subsequent criminal charges filed in court – which his party media refers to in the most infantile way as the 'Vella inquiry case' with absolutely no reference to hospitals and corrup- tion – suggests that he has tied his fate and that of the PL with that of Muscat, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. Abela knows what messy hospitals deal he in- herited. He knows that significant milestones were far from achieved by the time he became prime minister in 2020. He is aware of the side agreements that were entered into behind Cab- inet's back by Konrad Mizzi. He was warned of the fraudulent nature of the contract. And yet he chose to ignore all this and instead of calling for justice to be done, he led a head- long charge against the inquiring magistrate, journalists and through his justice minister, the prosecution. Abela made Joseph Muscat's battle his own. In typical Abela fashion, after the 8 June elec- tion, we can expect the Prime Minister to moder- ate his discourse and tell us that the institutions should be allowed to work; that he was mistaken to treat the hospitals saga from a lawyer's per- spective; he will slowly try, once again, to put distance between himself and Muscat. But there are only so many times in politics you can play this game and continue to emerge un- scathed. This is definitely not one of those oc- casions. As the hospitals corruption cases – ONE News please note – drag on in court, the Labour Party will have to deal with the fallout, which has only been made worse by Abela's folly. Evarist Bartolo commented this week that be- fore it loses an election a party first starts to lose its "wisdom and moral authority" and warned the PL to beware the enemies from within. The PL is still a majority party but abstention and desertion are impacting it. In the last gener- al election, the vote gap between the two major parties grew only because the PN lost more votes than the PL did to abstention. By embracing the people accused of corruption in the hospitals deal, the PL has lost its moral authority to dictate what is right and wrong. It is losing its wisdom to discern between the narrow interests of the few and the greater good. It is a pity that the social and economic pro- gress achieved since 2013 is getting buried be- neath a mountain of muck. The bigger misfortune is that instead of taking the bold steps to start cleaning up, the current PL administration, including Abela, are at times burying their heads in the sand and on other oc- casions actively contributing to the muck by try- ing to undermine the justice process. The party is allowing the enemies within to un- dermine it with the complicity of those in charge. Quote of the Week "Absolute not guilty." – Joseph Muscat pleading in court to charges of corruption and criminal association on the Vitals hospitals contract in an unprecedented case that saw a former prime minister, who resigned in disgrace in 2020, in the dock to answer for serious crimes. MaltaToday 10 years ago 1 June 2014 Government refusing to honour 'contro- versial' €35 million photovoltaic contract THE government is refusing to hon- our a €35 million contract awarded to the Alberta Photovoltaic Consortium before the March 2013, after claiming that the contract will oblige taxpayers to fork out €11 million more to the private firm on feed-in tariffs for energy sold to Enemalta from solar panels. According to the contract, the feedin tariff payable to Alberta, which will install PV panels over government building roofs, is much higher than the cost of energy per kilowatt-hours that normal residences pay. The 25-year contract covers the installa- tion of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of government buildings nationwide. But an energy ministry spokesperson who spoke to MaltaToday described the contract as "shocking" because it "ig- nores the tariff structure and only favours the contractor." The Muscat administration is seeking legal advice on the contract awarded by former resources minister George Pullici- no on an expression of interest his ministry had issued for the PV project. The contract binds the government to pay Alberta 22c per kWh of energy produced from the solar panels, when normal customers are paid a 16c per kWh feed-in tariff. This works out at 6c9 more than the nor- mal feed-in tariff, and is equivalent to €11 million more than would be expected with a normal tariff structure. Interest in the EOI came from 15 companies, with the final contract binding the government for 25 years. In December 2012, shadow environment minister Leo Brincat raised questions in the House over the €10 million solar panel project awarded to the Alberta-Solarig consortium, demanding the publication of the agreement.