Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531391
5 ANALYSIS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JANUARY 2025 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt FIVE years ago, party members sur- prisingly elected Robert Abela on a promise of "continuity and change", probably because he was perceived to be closer to Joseph Muscat than his adversary, Chris Fearne. In his first few weeks in office, he sought to address critics by embrac- ing change and distancing himself from his disgraced predecessor. Five years on, Abela is increasingly mired in the corruption issues he inherited. Just a month after becoming Prime Minister – following the country's deepest political crisis that led to Jo- seph Muscat's resignation – Abela recorded the highest trust rating ever in a MaltaToday survey. Nearly two- thirds of respondents (63%) said they trusted him over then-opposition leader Adrian Delia. This remarkable result came de- spite Abela alienating Muscat loyal- ists with several key moves in his first weeks as Prime Minister, including the resignations of Police Commis- sioner Lawrence Cutajar and Justyne Caruana, Neville Gafà's departure from the OPM, and the order to halt the removal of flowers from Daphne Caruana Galizia's memorial in Val- letta. These actions suggested that Abe- la's instinct for change outweighed his promise of continuity, a senti- ment that resonated with the elec- torate, as reflected in opinion polls. It was also Abela's way of positioning himself as a unifier during a crisis, a trait that would surface on several other occasions. Iron cast in the pandemic However, Abela's honeymoon was abruptly interrupted by a global pan- demic, an epochal challenge that tested his leadership skills. He rose to the occasion, leveraging the eco- nomic reserves inherited from his predecessor. In this sense, the crisis also underlined his dependence on the economic model he had inher- ited, thus making him less disposed to change it. While managing to outspend the pandemic – thanks to relaxed EU budgetary rules – Abela still managed to avoid bankrupting the country. CONTINUES NEXT PAGE Robert Abela waving to an enthusiastic Labour crowd in his first party address after being elected leader in January 2020. (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) FIVE YEARS OF ROBERT MASTER OF CRISIS, BOGGED DOWN BY CONTINUITY AND CORRUPTION