Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542182
IT must be tough for every La- bour minister and member of parliament to keep a straight face when faced with the Rod- erick Galdes question. The sit- uation is a difficult one to fath- om. Social and Affordable Hous- ing Minister Roderick Galdes believes that no one has a right to delve into his personal assets or those of his wife. He is either living in a parallel universe or infinitely dumb about conflict of interest and transparency in politics. He also believes that his ex- cuse for all his properties can be justified by referring to the wealth he acquired over the years in ways that are yet to be explained. There is not one per- son on this island who believes him. He is the joke of the day. What I cannot underdstand is why the Labour leadership have not asked him to pack and leave. For someone who is expected to champion so- cial housing, the last thing one would expect is a man obsessed with investing in property. It smacks of shameless irrespon- sibility from a politician hailing from the Labour Party. He is, after all, so worthless as a politician that his departure will not even be noticed. There are many suitable individuals who could replace him in his constituency. Yet, in all this drama, what I cannot understand is that one of Galdes's staunchest critics is the one and only Jason Azz- opardi. Now, Azzopardi in his wis- dom has hit out at Galdes on two principle grounds: The first is Galdes's accumulated property assets in Malta and overseas; the second is a clear unadulterated insinuation that Galdes could be corrupt. Were it not for the fact that I have watched the rise and fall of Azzopardi, I would today be writing about the tradition of stuffing Christmas turkey with chestnuts and Maltese pork sausages. The truth is that the Jason Azzopardi sham has gone on for too long. As Azzopardi launches volley after volley of lead shot against Galdes he fails to accept what a shameless hypocrite he is. In between all his holier than thou proclamations and at- tempts to project the image of a person who is an upright and virginal Christian, he led a life that one would expect in a Can- ale 5 telenovela. Jason Azzopardi has adopted a convenient if hypocritical tac- tic over the years. He benefitted from the benevolence of people only to later attack them on social media, while expecting everyone else to close an eye to his indiscretions. He benefitted from the Tumas Group; he benefitted from big businesses with controversial projects he later attacked; he benefitted from John's Garage and later lambasted them as if they were complete strangers. Azzopardi's life is spattered with examples that prove be- yond doubt what a shameless double-faced person he is. But as he throws stones at Gal- des, I remembered that some 12 years ago he was at the cen- tre of a very serious magisterial inquiry by another questiona- ble figure—Magistrate Monica Vella. That magisterial inquiry for anyone with some creepy memory was all about plots in Paola when Jason Azzopardi was responsible for lands under the Gonzi administration. Magistrate Vella literally slept on this inquiry and when the controversial reform in the law that governs magisterial in- quiries came into vigore, that inquiry was passed on to the Attorney General. The AG has three options, to either assign the inquiry to a new magistrate, pass on the finding to the police to action or to simply kill it. Meanwhile, the facts are very simple. Jason Azzopardi for all his self-righteous talk is the subject of a magisterial inquiry that has dragged on and on and on. Needless to say, most of the judiciary have been scared to ruffle feathers. Most do not want to be in his crosshares. I never understood why peo- ple such as Matthew Carua- na Galizia continue to use his services, considering the sins and ethical questions Azzopar- di has accumulated over the years, including his blatant lies, hypocrisy, personal crusades fuelled by self-interest and the deliberate leaking of sensitive information from court pro- ceedings. More importantly, at least from a political standing, the departure of Galdes from the Labour Party is a must if Rob- ert Abela is going to start the year on a positive note. And at Dar Centrali, Alex Borg should not repeat the mistake of his predecessor Bernard Grech and play to the tune of Jason Azzo- pardi. The political arguments against an unfit minister should be left to a political party that has nothing to hide, preaches ethics as a measure of propriety and not be dictated by a hypo- crite. 7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 DECEMBER 2025 OPINION The political arguments against an unfit minister should be left to a political party that has nothing to hide, preaches ethics as a measure of propriety and not be dictated by a hypocrite Saviour Balzan Founder and co-owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster Galdes must go, but Jason Azzopardi must not be the one leading the crusade Left to right: Jason Azzopardi and Roderick Galdes