A dangerous knee-jerk reaction

The Prime Minister’s reaction on Sunday to the news that Jason Azzopardi requested another magisterial inquiry into claims of corruption was worrying on two grounds.

For starters, the forcefulness in Robert Abela’s language was clearly intended as a response to some within the party’s structures, who are questioning his authority. Abela the Labour leader wanted to show that he has the proverbial balls to take the ‘fight’ to the Nationalists and those whom he describes as its ‘extreme wing’. The latter is a reference to the likes of Repubblika and Jason Azzopardi.

The unintended consequence of Abela’s attempt to convince those within his party of his toughness was to send out a message of panic to the rest of the electorate. To casual observers, it seemed as if Abela is losing his grip on the party and was forced to react as he did to try and assert authority.

The problem is that in doing so he only confirmed what the internal Labour rumour mill has been humming about for the past year: Robert Abela has carried out far too many illogical U-turns leaving his ministers unsure whether he will have their back on key decisions.

This sentiment was reported to MaltaToday by several Cabinet members and others within the PL structures. It is a sentiment that also surfaced forcefully in discussions podcaster Ricky Caruana has had with Labour Deputy Leader Alex Agius Saliba and former prime minister Joseph Muscat recently.

It is evident that this subdued turbulence is bothering Abela and to counter this, on Sunday, he chose to lash out at the Opposition and its satellites, while vowing to change the law that regulates magisterial inquiries. It is already worrying to have a Prime Minister who feels besieged by his own but it is more concerning that to counter this threat he tries to take it out on the State.

This leads us to the second point of concern, which is Abela’s request to the Justice Minister to reform the way magisterial inquiries are requested and conducted.

In the circumstances, the logical conclusion from what he said on Sunday is that Abela would like to limit the ability of ordinary citizens to request magisterial inquiries.

This is a dangerous move and one borne out of desperation. If Abela has nothing to hide he should not fear a magisterial inquiry.

It is worth noting that the latest claim of corruption concerns the allotment of boat moorings at Mgarr Harbour in Gozo by Transport Malta. Additionally, a separate claim involves Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri’s wife, who is a lawyer and was allegedly working on private cases during her official work hours at Transport Malta, where she is employed.

The claims are not frivolous and include the names of the people involved, which is why an investigation is warranted. If the police are unwilling to probe the claims then the only recourse an ordinary citizen has is requesting a magisterial inquiry.

The system today already has its safeguards against frivolous attempts since all inquiry requests are screened by a magistrate, who decides whether there is a basis for an inquiry to be held. This decision can be appealed either way, thus introducing another layer of scrutiny.

If the court feels the request for an inquiry is legitimate a magistrate is then assigned the brief. It must be said that these inquiries are intended to preserve the proof and do not determine the guilt or otherwise of a person.

It is on the basis of the magisterial conclusions that the police and the Attorney General then proceed with further investigation or prosecution.

The system may have its imperfections but the biggest reform that could take place is having a dedicated pool of investigative magistrates with their own officers to ensure that inquiries do not get in the way of ordinary court work.

Unfortunately, what Abela hinted at on Sunday was not this but some form of restriction to curb the rights currently enjoyed by ordinary citizens. This does not bode well for democracy.