[ANALYSIS] Pressure on Muscat: from Anglu to Manuel

Back in December 2012, just weeks before the general election, Labour leader Joseph Muscat took the unprecedented step of asking his party’s deputy leader, Anglu Farrugia, to step down, ostensibly for comments he passed insinuating that a decision by Magistrate Audrey Demicoli on corrupt practices during the 2008 general elections, could have been politically motivated.

Muscat’s call was made in the wake not only of those comments, but also of a dismal performance by Farrugia during a TV debate with his opposite number in the Nationalist Party, Simon Busuttil, who had just been elected deputy leader and had outgunned Farrugia.

This was spun by the Labour party organ Maltastar as “a lesson in accountability for GonziPN”, describing “this resignation as a sharp contrast to the way GonziPN has dealt with blunders by government Ministers”.

In so doing Muscat set a yardstick by which he could be measured should he be elected Prime Minister – namely that none of his ministers should take their position for granted.

Subsequently, the charismatic Louis Grech, who was more palatable to middle of the road voters, replaced Farrugia and Labour’s campaign was brought back on track. The message sent to the electorate was that Muscat was not afraid of taking tough decisions even if this meant offending his closest collaborators. If Muscat could remove a deputy over a poor performance in a TV debate, he would be even more decisive when faced with mismanagement or improprieties.

Others interpreted Farrugia’s sacking as proof that Muscat would do anything to win power, even if it meant ditching a close collaborator over his performance in a TV debate, but clearly the electorate was more likely to see this as evidence of Muscat’s zero tolerance for incompetence.

Moreover the sacking also represented a definitive break between old Labour, represented by Farrugia, and the new middle class friendly party represented by Muscat, Grech and star candidates like Manuel Mallia.

Despite earning Farrugia’s resentment, with the latter speaking out in the middle of the campaign about the influence of big contractors on Labour, Muscat ultimately emerged stronger in the eyes of former Nationalist voters who were on the verge of crossing the Rubicon.

Appeasement or ruthless efficiency?

Still, upon being elected Muscat started showing another more accommodating side.  The offended Farrugia, who was deemed not sufficiently eloquent to run as deputy leader, was approached, placated, and subsequently appointed to the position of parliamentary Speaker.

Moreover Muscat also appointed the largest cabinet in Maltese history, in what was seen as an attempt to keep everyone happy. Even backbenchers who were left out were given public appointments. 

Still Muscat retained his decisive streak in his first cabinet reshuffle, which resulted in the removal from cabinet of former health Minister Godfrey Farrugia after the latter refused the offer of another ministry. Godfrey Farrugia did not face any allegations of improper behaviour but was axed for administrative shortcomings just a year after being appointed. It was a clear case of Muscat expecting better results in the health sector.

Moreover Muscat also kicked upstairs two popular veteran party stalwarts; Marie Louise Coleiro Preca who was promoted to the presidency and Karmenu Vella who was nominated European commissioner. 

While Coleiro Preca’s ascendancy to the presidential throne has been a popular choice, her absence in the cabinet has weakened the government’s socialist credentials.

Snowballing effect?

It was during the past few weeks that Muscat was faced with three cases of allegations of improper behaviour and in all three cases Muscat has stood by his ministers.

The first case he faced involved Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli, a minister who has delivered by spearheading legislation on civil unions and gender identity, and is drafting an integration policy for migrants.

Muscat was presented with solid evidence that illegal works were being carried out on a property owned by Pada Ltd, a company owned by Helena Dalli and her husband Patrick.

“Helena Dalli has explained that the place is covered by a promise of sale agreement and the works were not done by her but the person who is buying the property,” Muscat said by way of defence.

But when asked whether this was acceptable behaviour by a minister, Muscat acknowledged, “things can always be done better”.

While surely an embarrassment for the government, in the absence of proof that the works were directly carried out by the Dallis, the case amounts to an oversight and the minister’s failure to rid herself of financial interests in a construction company, which has returned to haunt her. In this sense Muscat may well have weighed her positive contribution to government and her oversight. 

The case also exposes Muscat’s failure to enforce a code of ethics on his ministers, which prevents the occurrence of similar incidents.

Muscat was also faced with allegations of conflicts of interest against Labour MP Luciano Busuttil who currently chairs the National Sports Council.

The allegations surfaced in a sentence of the Appeals Court which annulled a waste contract awarded by the Cospicua council, and ordered that Busuttil be investigated for “serious allegations” that he had advised the council to disqualify a bidder to favour his client.

The court also sent a copy of its judgment to the Attorney General, the Director of Contracts and the Commission for the Administration of Justice for the necessary investigations to be carried out.

Since Busuttil is not a cabinet member, Muscat is under less pressure to take immediate action in this case. Moreover an investigation is ongoing. The Prime Minister said he would leave it to the commission to carry out its investigation.

“I will not enter into the merits of the case…  Busuttil has said he was not advising the winning bidder at the time,” he said.

Muscat may have appeared more resolute had he asked Busuttil to resign from chairman of the Malta Sports Council until the investigation is concluded.

How a ‘shoot-out’ eclipsed the Budget

But both Dalli’s and Busuttil’s cases pale in significance when compared to the media impact of a shooting incident involving the driver of Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, which completely eclipsed a relatively good budget.

So instead of selling the budget the Prime Minister finds himself answering questions on an incident which is reminiscent of a banana republic.

For this was the kind of incident which captures the imagination which solidifies perceptions of an anything goes culture.

It risks becoming the talk of the town during the Christmas season, a time when perceptions solidify during staff parties and family meetings.

Moreover, the leader of the opposition has put the onus on Joseph Muscat by asking him to fire Mallia. It was a smart move. 

For Busuttil managed to pre-emptively limit Muscat’s options to two: either follow the cue of the opposition and sack Mallia or keep him and appear weak.

Busuttil has also effectively prevented Muscat from taking the initiative himself either by sacking Mallia without having been told to do so, or by rebuking his minister without firing him, or by simply finding another scapegoat within Mallia’s ministry.

The latter option may still be open for Muscat.

For the inquiry may well find shortcomings in the ministry which are not directly attributable to Mallia.

Busuttil’s challenge neutralised Muscat’s reaction to the case, which took the shape of a meeting with Mallia in which he expressed “anger and disgust” at the incident, with both agreeing that “strong action” should be taken against Mallia’s offending escort, Paul Sheehan.

So far Muscat has absolved Mallia by equating responsibility to direct involvement in the incident.

“If the inquiry shows that Mallia has any political responsibility to shoulder, of being involved in the case – which so far does not result to me – or that he was on site or giving instructions on the site of the incident, then there is responsibility to be carried,” Muscat told MaltaToday on Friday.

But this answer suggests that the case is not closed and Muscat may have a contingency plan to appease popular anger.

Moreover this is one case which cannot be deflected on to the opposition.

For while the government can throw back other accusations of ministerial misconduct on the poor record of former Nationalist ministers, no case exists of a former minister’s driver shooting at a car involved in a hit and run. 

One may recall a number of cases involving ministry officials which had serious repercussions on public administration, including a case where Noel Borg Hedley, a Finance Ministry official, was found guilty of bribery.

But everything pales in significance when compared to a scene worthy of an action movie.

One may argue that Mallia is under no obligation to resign because he was not involved in the incident and he cannot be held responsible for the personal actions of his driver. Moreover he had already suspended his driver, who has also been suspended from the police.

But the main problem for Mallia is that his ministry’s first reaction was to minimise the incident and shift the blame from his driver, a police officer.

In its first statement Mallia’s ministry claimed that the driver had fired “two warning shots in the air”. However, photo evidence shows that the bullets had lodged inside the car. A photo published by MaltaToday shows a bullet hole above the rear windscreen, in the car’s roof, and another in the rear bumper.

Ultimately it was the wrong information conveyed by the ministry in its first press release, along with the perception that the minister attracts the wrong sort of people around him, which undermined Mallia’s position. The sheer fact that Mallia is responsible for the Home Affairs Ministry, which is responsible for upholding the law of the land, makes his position even more untenable. 

Dragged down by Mallia?

Muscat may be wary that sacking Mallia in the absence of a direct link between him and his driver’s action may set a precedent in the way he will have to address the shortcomings of other ministers in the future. 

For holding ministers accountable for the action of their direct subordinates may open the flood gates for future demands for resignations. Understandably the Prime Minister may be reluctant to raise the bar of ministerial responsibility.

Moreover making Mallia resign now would trigger instability, as his replacement would trigger a reshuffle. 

But inevitably Muscat’s failure to sack him comes across as a sign of weakness vis-à-vis a very strong personality who came from the other side and was fielded as a star candidate in a bid to lure Nationalist voters impressed by the standing of a top criminal lawyer.

Interestingly, Muscat failed to show the same consideration to another former Nationalist – Godfrey Farrugia was removed for administrative reasons. The perceived weakness vis-à-vis Mallia also evokes a sharp contrast with Muscat’s ruthlessness towards Anglu Farrugia two years ago.

Anglu Farrugia was yet a party official, and not a minister, and thus more easily disposable. But by sacking Farrugia Muscat had set a yardstick according to which undesirable comments on a magistrate coupled with a bad performance on TV, could cost you your head. This should make any minister in Muscat’s cabinet dread the consequences of what they do. 

Mallia’s survival risks sending the opposite message: that Muscat will stick up for his ministers in the same way as Lawrence Gonzi and Eddie Fenech Adami used to stick up for their own.

Significantly, the first signs of decline in ministerial standards is occurring just two years since Muscat was elected to power. Some may say that even when judged by the yardstick set by previous PN governments, this degeneration is happening far too early in the course of the legislature.

Moreover recent surveys have shown Muscat’s ratings as stable, despite a sharp dip in the ratings of his ministers. Muscat now risks being dragged down by what used to be one of his most powerful assets in the electoral campaign.