Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/665749
5 who are part of his government's central nervous system. Moreover his lack of action coupled with rev- elations that the companies were formed five days after Labour took office, only to be taken over by Mizzi and Schembri two years later, only serves to raise more questions. The worse scenario is where inaction by the PM leaves room from all sorts of conspiracy theories. Still Muscat adds that he will be taking "action". The problem for Muscat is that the only action he can take is to heed to pressure com- ing from his ranks, including former party leader and Prime Minister Alfred Sant and education minister Evarist Bartolo, to either convince Mizzi and Schembri to resign or to sack them. So if Muscat has already committed himself to take action, it remains a mystery why he is pro- crastinating on it. It is against this backdrop that Muscat's pitch to inclusive politics loses its pre-2013 sheen. Muscat said he was not interested in lead- ing a tribe: "I took an oath to lead the country. I will not be among those who sow hatred." But Sunday's speech looked too much as a re-en- actment of the pre-2013 days against a very different backdrop dominated by Panamagate. Moreover his ap- peal against tribalism contrasted with a speech delivered just minutes before in which his economy min- ister warned the PN that "if you hit us with a sword, we will hit you back with an axe." On a positive note Muscat also committed himself to publish all contracts related to energy and health by the end of the year, with the proviso that this will not include "commercially sensitive" data, a nor- mal practice if what is commercially sensitive is clearly defined. Simon Busuttil ups the ante On his part Simon Busuttil has raised the stakes by turning the na- tional demonstration in to a call on Muscat to resign. In so doing Busuttil was either try- ing to anticipate any move by Mus- cat to ditch Mizzi and Schembri be- fore the protest or was banking on new revelations, which put Muscat under the spotlight, insisting that the prime minister has "lost all mor- al authority to govern". He also directly inferred that the PM might be involved in this case. "Who does this third Panamanian company belong to?" he questioned to the cheering crowd? referring to Egrant, one of the three companies set up by Nexia BT just days after the 2013 election. He also made a pertinent question which haunts the Muscat adminis- tration: "Which businessman who negoti- ates with Muscat will not question whether he will have to pay a secret commission fee somewhere along the line? What will the other Euro- pean prime ministers think of Mus- cat when he tries to defend Malta's financial services sector? They will tell him that he should have first kicked out Mizzi and Schembri. But by focusing on Muscat, Busut- til risks re-uniting the Labour group against him instead of encourag- ing dissent on the government's benches. For Busuttil would have seriously threatened Muscat had he presented a motion of censure in Mizzi and Schembri weeks ago, something, which would have put some government MPs, and sen- ior ministers in a difficult position. Moreover by calling on Muscat to resign, Busuttil gives the impression that he is questioning the govern- ment's electoral mandate. Busuttil tried to counter this im- pression arguing that the party drew up the motion "to show that there is someone in Parliament who is ready to reflect the people's real sentiment" not because "we want an early election." Busuttil's protest gamble did pay off in terms of international coverage and sheer numbers. But Busuttil's own speech was predict- able. Once again he was in synch with popular anger on this issue, but lagged in presenting himself as a statesman who can make things better. His own good governance stance is also being questioned with his defence of a loan scheme for his own party, in which the names of lenders are not published, a short- coming that is easily exploited by Labour, whose leader dubbed the scheme as a "Panama in the PN". Overshadowed by Marlene? The highlight of the PN's protest was an emotional speech delivered by independent MP Marlene Farru- gia who managed to stir the crowd. She also expressed popular anguish when she openly declared in front of a PN crowd that the public had punished the Nationalist Party for corruption in the last election. "It is now up to them to change, and that is what they are trying to do," she said to a round of applause. "The government says Malta is changing. It is and that is why we are here. We want change, but for the better," she said. Unlike Busuttil, Marlene Farru- gia also humanised the corruption issue. "Corruption bears the face of the woman who needs cancer medication but has to beg to the MCCF, it bears the face of the war- den who has to give tickets or risk losing his job. It has the face of lost opportunities, the taxes that they have invested in their country that are supposed to be used to promote social inclusion." Yet by participating in a rally or- ganised by the PN, Farrugia who is still intent on creating a new politi- cal party has sent a mixed message to potential voters who shun both parties in equal doses. Unlike Far- rugia, the Greens kept their dis- tance from the PN while keeping the pressure on Muscat from their own turf. One risk for Farrugia who argues that her participation was dictated by the national inter- est is that those who reluctantly regard the PN as a lesser evil will see her participation in a PN event as a confirmation that the prior- ity in the next election is a change in government. Marlene Farrugia may plausibly argue that this is the continental way of doing politics, which sees leaders of rival parties uniting behind a common cause. But in highly partisan Malta many may interpret her participation in an event organised by the PN as evidence that she is in cahoots with the opposition which may well be her ultimate political destination, thus going back full circle. What is sure is that Farrugia is not averse to risk and has the popular touch which many third party ex- ponents lack. Farrugia may well be attracting the good will of rank and file PN voters and thus enable her party to exploit the electoral system by banking on second preferences of these voters. Moreover by elevating Farrugia, the PN will find it diffi- cult to tarnish her reputation on the eve of the election, if she becomes a threat to them. In some way, it is Marlene Farrugia who has the up- per hand over the PN. The PN need her to legitimise their stance beyond the party core while she can keep her options open, toying with a new party while benefitting from the op- position's good will. Yet in doing so she has to ensure that she does not lose those who are putting her trust in her because they are fed up by both parties. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 APRIL 2016 News MALTA'S PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU 2017 CALL FOR TENDERS CONFERENCE INTERPRETATION SERVICES The Parliamentary Secretariat for EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, within the Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, notifies that a call for tenders for conference interpretation services held in relation to Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU 2017 has been issued. The tender documents are available to download online from www.etenders.gov.mt MALTA'S PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU 2017 CALL FOR TENDERS CONFERENCE INTERPRETATION SERVICES The Parliamentary Secretariat for EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, within the Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, notifies that a call for tenders for conference interpretation services held in relation to Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU 2017 has been issued. The tender documents are available to download online from www.etenders.gov.mt warfare on Panamagate "By focusing on Muscat, Busuttil risks re-uniting the Labour group against him instead of encouraging dissent on the government's benches" Busuttil's speech was in synch with popular anger on Panamagate, but did not project an image of himself as a statesman