The wrong side of history

Over the past 10 years the Labour Party has consistently accused the Opposition of standing ‘on the wrong side of history’ each time bold reforms were enacted. 

The statement implied the Opposition was out of step with the changes taking place in society and the pain of minorities. 

But for all the PL’s talk of being bold and in tune with people’s needs, even if these happen to be small minorities (such as victims of Thalidomide, who will be given compensation for the suffering they have endured), its MPs were left wanting last week. 

The 40 Labour MPs present in parliament, including Prime Minister Robert Abela and his deputy Chris Fearne, dug their heels in and voted against a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia. 

Faced with the angry and painful reaction of Jean Paul’s parents inside parliament, none of the PL MPs had the guts to look them in the eyes. On this occasion, the Labour Party, its MPs and the government were on the wrong side of history. 

It was a moment of shameful arrogance in the face of two people who lost their son in a tragedy that came only three years after a similar incident in Hamrun killed Miriam Pace. 

The words mouthed by Jean Paul’s mother, Isabelle Bonnici, will continue to ring loud: “To those who chose not to support me, I will not give up… I will continue.” 

Jean Paul’s father, John Sofia, was more poignant when addressing the Prime Minister: “Prime Minister, you shall go home and hug your daughter, but I have no one to hug because I lost my son seven months ago.” 

In the face of these emotional appeals Robert Abela’s insistence that he does not want a public inquiry into this incident smacks of arrogance and hard-headedness. 

No one is saying that a public inquiry should replace the ongoing magisterial inquiry. Both delve into different aspects. 

The only inquiry that will result in arrests being made and people charged in court over Jean Paul’s death is the one being conducted by Magistrate Marsanne Farrugia. On this the Prime Minister is right. 

But sending someone to jail for Jean Paul’s death (unless some benevolent magistrate grants them community work) is only one aspect of justice, albeit a very important one. 

What many voices are calling for is a public inquiry that would go beyond the purely criminal aspects and delve into how the construction sector as a whole is regulated; its linkages with power; whether recommendations made by the Quintano board appointed after the Miriam Pace tragedy were implemented; how the land on which the factory where Jean Paul was killed had been granted to the two businesspersons; whether there are systemic failures. 

In an interview with MaltaToday on the morrow of the vote, a visibly agitated and frustrated Abela insisted the magistrate leading the criminal inquiry has unfettered power to delve into any aspect she deems fit, including how the public land was transferred to the developers and other issues being raised by Jean Paul’s parents. 

However, the Prime Minister also knows that what the magistrate chooses to delve into is purely her prerogative. She may consider anything else beyond the cause and responsibility for the accident irrelevant. 

Abela also insisted that if the magistrate does not probe these aspects, he will make sure that other investigations take place to determine whether there were systemic failures.  

And yet, the Prime Minister steadfastly refused to commit to a public inquiry. 

The reasons Abela has been giving for his opposition to a public inquiry remain incomprehensible. Even his claim that it would set a precedent sound hollow. 

There are compelling reasons for this particular case to serve as a launch pad for a wider inquest into the construction industry. Sofia’s death came almost three years after Miriam Pace died in the rubble of her home, when government had to be implementing changes to how the sector is regulated. 

Society has a right to know whether enough was done in those three years. We already know that the licensing of building contractors had been promised even before Pace’s death and yet it is only later this year that the new licensing regime will come into force. 

Not every death or incident necessitates a public inquiry. But it is high time that we had an unfettered transparent exercise that probes the construction sector, its actors, its regulators and its enablers. 

The truth is that Abela probably does not want a public inquiry because it could drag on for months and turn into an embarrassing media spectacle for the construction sector, government and the political parties. 

Or maybe there is something to hide from a public inquiry into the construction sector? 

Either way, his hard-headedness and resistance simply confirm the widespread suspicion that politicians are beholden to the construction lobby. 

It is a shame that instead of standing on the right side of history, Abela has turned his back to the genuine pleas of two hurt parents and thousands of Maltese who want a public inquiry. 

Jean Paul Sofia’s death will come back to haunt Abela and the other 39 Labour MPs who voted against a public inquiry. They will come to regret their ill-fated decision but asking for forgiveness on the eve of a general election will no longer work as a ploy to attract sympathy. 

If the Labour Party wants to save face it should convince its own leader now that a U-turn is more than justified in the current circumstances.