A dirty red flag of convenience

When on Friday disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat told a MaltaToday journalist that he would not rule out standing for the European Parliament election his followers went into a frenzy. 

They had good reason to. In Joseph, they discovered the saviour that crystallised the return of Labour after 22 long years in Opposition. 

Many believed in him, including myself. In 2013, we looked forward to an end to the nepotism, bigotry and stuffiness of the Gonzi years. I for one thought that he would serve as a breath of fresh air; a change for the better. 

Those who argue that we should have known better, are perhaps imbued with the sixth sense. I am not and will never be. What happened was not only the eradication of socialism and replacing it with neo-liberalism, but daring social reforms and a calibration of the wrongs of the previous 22 years. 

However, in the process, we missed the small signs of personal gratification and warnings of criminal intent. We also seemed to have underestimated the extent of the greed that gripped the people at the top and their lust to have more and partake in business deals. 

This is not the time and place to revisit the timeline of events that confirmed our worst fears of Muscat. But briefly some of Muscat’s misdemeanours are firstly his attitude towards the opening of Panama companies by his chief of staff Keith Schembri and star minister Konrad Mizzi at the same time these two were negotiating the Socar and Electrogas contracts, the Vitals deal and so many other crucial government contracts. 

Secondly, his knowledge of the business relationship between Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri when others did not, a situation made worse when in May 2018 Muscat was told by the Security Services that Fenech was a person of interest in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder. 

For me, much more significant was that he personally encouraged the narrative (when he knew it was untrue) that the real killers behind the murder of Caruana Galizia were oil smugglers. 

There are so many other reasons why Muscat had to resign. But as we all recall he did this at his own pace and time. His exit from politics was cushioned by careful consideration and attention to his needs including a publicly funded office at Sa Maison from where he conducts his financial and management advisory services. Services which include giving advice to many individuals and companies who he had confronted when serving as prime minister. 

To be fair, the reality of revolving doors is not endemic to Maltese politics.  Many foreign politicians work with private companies against their own governments and country. Muscat’s former Italian premier friend Matteo Renzi, who declared millions, is a case in point. Nonetheless, Muscat’s crucial link to certain individuals raises more questions than answers. 

And in a very similar way, he has tried to emulate Donald Trump and Silvio Berlusconi by seeking political office because of a pending magisterial inquiry that could lead to criminal proceedings against him. 

Obviously, many of his hard-core supporters are clearly unwilling to digest this kind of reality. To them Joseph is their saviour and to hell with all the contradictions and accusations. 

But the ‘moviment’ that represented the Muscat tag when he was Labour prime minister is all but gone. It is like a memory from the recent past. The fragile network of moderates and independents that wanted to get rid of the Gonzi administration are done with Muscat and his antics. They think he is someone who put his interests before that of his party, government and country. 

It is true that if Muscat finally decides to stand for election, he will galvanise and bring out the hard-core vote, but in the process, he will alienate the middle of the road voters. It is the latter voters who took Labour to new highs in previous elections. 

It will also erode all the positive inroads that Robert Abela achieved against all odds and in the most difficult of circumstances. 

Muscat’s flirtations on the Manuel Cuschieri show weaken Abela’s standing. If Muscat stands as an MEP candidate it will signal the demise of the Abela administration. 

Muscat’s place today is definitely not in politics or in the Labour Party. He surely knows that his life in politics will deprive him (if not much more) of half a million euros income a year from his consultancies. Yet he also knows that a political comeback will shield him to some extent from the judicial process. 

And in typical Trump and Berlusconi style he will lash out at the judiciary as he has already done to underscore what he describes as the establishment’s campaign against him. 

Many of his blind followers will use similar arguments - if anyone wants to break Joseph they should do it at the polling booth not in the courts. 

If the June EP election results in a better electoral showing for Labour, the PN may find the courage to change its leadership. They may also understand that the moderates and independents may well consider following them if they are more credible and representative. With a new leader, a new vision, someone who embraces modernism, rejects the self-entitlement of toxic PN allies and NGOs, understands the need for change and is willing to take tough decisions, the PN may well be in pole position for the 2027 national election. 

Until then we will have to wait and see if Joseph waves his dirty red flag of convenience for his own personal motives.