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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 • 22 DECEMBER 2024 The end of the supermajority era Editorial ROBERTA Metsola described 2024 as the "biggest global election year in history". She was referring to several important elections including those held in France, the UK, the US and India, and Europe-wide elections to elect representatives in the European Parliament. Indeed, 2024 was a year of reckoning in many of the countries where elections were held with far-right politicians gaining significant footholds in parliaments and governments. In Malta, the European election represented a seminal moment since the result shattered the aura of invincibility that surrounded the Labour Party. The PL still emerged from the election as the largest party but saw its 40,000-vote lead over the Nationalist Party cut down to 8,000 votes. The Labour juggernaut that had been steaming ahead and collecting supermajori- ties along the may was finally dented. Subsequent surveys carried out by Malta- Today after the summer months showed the PN edging in front for the first time in many years even though the difference between the parties was solidly within the margin of error. This was a year in which the PL was cut down to size. Indeed, 2024 marked the end of Labour's supermajority era, allowing the PN to start believing again in the possibility of electoral victory. Just 12 months ago very few people believed we would ever be using defeatist terminology when talking about the PL let alone entertain- ing the possibility of seeing the PN in govern- ment. Whether the PL maintains its downward trend in 2025 still has to be seen but a day is a long time in politics. The tide may yet turn but the prognosis so far suggests otherwise with the Prime Minister increasingly taking to knee-jerk reactions when faced with scandals and uncomfortable situations. Nonetheless, 2024 was a stark reminder that the electorate can never be taken for granted. Faced by punishing inflation, several illogical political U-turns and a string of corruption allegations that started to hurt people in re- al-time, the electorate felt it was time for the government to be given a stiff warning last June. Labour voters appear to have moved to the parking lot, where they are more likely to listen to other voices. But more importantly, the EP election out- come showed that the moment a political party believes it is invincible is the moment it starts to lose the plot. The downfall may not be immediate but it becomes a gradual decline that can be difficult to arrest. This is a lesson all politicians need to learn going forward into the new year. Your right to know We took the bold decision to publish the Vitals inquiry in its entirety last May because readers had a right to know what it contained. We felt that it was unfair on voters to be asked by politicians to use their vote as a means to pass judgement on the inquiry when they were not privy to its findings. Howev- er, we also sought legal advice to ensure that publication of the inquiry would not prejudice ongoing court proceedings against the several individuals and companies charged with var- ious crimes. The final decision was to publish the full in- quiry with no redactions so that people couId read through it and reach their own conclu- sions. It was a decision we took in the public interest, on a matter of significant public con- troversy. We believe people should be able to make in- formed judgements on issues that are affect- ing them. It was absurd that just two weeks before the June election, people were clueless about the findings of a major inquiry that rocked the political establishment. It was our duty to ensure people had all the information at hand to make an informed choice, rather than wait for politicians to filter out the in- convenient truths. This is a choice we will continue making be- cause we believe the people's right to know should trump immature partisan considera- tions. Quote of the Week "I think of my three children. I also think of my grandchildren, who are the future, and it is also for them that I am fighting this battle… I pay tribute to the unrecognised victims whose stories remain in the shadows… we share the same fight." French rape victim Gisèle Pelicot in a statement outside the courthouse after judges sentenced her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, and 50 other men to jail. Dominique Pelicot was accused of drugging and raping his ex- wife and inviting other men to rape her while she was unconscious. The horrible acts lasted almost 10 years. MaltaToday 10 years ago 21 December 2014 Key witness in oil scandal never interrogated by police FOR eight years, Cathy Farrugia, the wife of former oil trader George Farrugia, was re- sponsible for drawing up and issuing 'illicit' invoices for her husband's secret company Aikon Ltd. The company, managed by fiduciary firm Intershore, served as Farrugia's vehicle to allegedly siphon off €6.8 million in illicit commissions on the sale of fuel oil to Ene- malta, and then deposit the cash in separate local and foreign accounts. While her husband today enjoys a pres- idential pardon issued just days after Mal- taToday broke the story of his role in the Enemalta fuel bribery network back in Janu- ary 2013, Cathy Farrugia has never been in- terrogated or questioned by Michael Cassar, then the chief investigating officer at the time, despite her pivotal role in Aikon Ltd. Cathy Farrugia was then responsible for is- suing bona fide invoices during this peri- od for Power Plan Limited, the family firm owned by the John's Group for the supply of fuel to the oil bunkering industry. But she also played a role in issuing secret invoices for her husband's other company, Aikon Ltd. The bulk of the illicit commissions for the sale of fuel oil to Enemalta were made from 2005 until 2010, when Alex Tranter was re- sponsible at the energy corporation as the politically appointed chairman of the ener- gy corporation. Behind the backs of his brothers John's Group, George Farrugia – using his company Aikon – brokered deals for the supply of oil to Enemalta from oil giant Tra- figura. ...