The state of the nation

In light of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s brutal assassination, the Yorgen Fenech trial paints a grim picture of the state of our nation.

The scheduled State of the Nation conference should prioritise a time for national reflection and measures to reduce the intersection between organised crime and the state, rather than focusing solely on demographic change and the country’s long-term future.

By ‘organised crime’, we generally tend to think of planned and coordinated criminal behaviour, conducted by people, groups or networks working together continuously.

But what happens when the law falters, fails to punish the offender, and, therefore, simultaneously fails to vindicate the victim of that crime? What happens when it is the lawmakers themselves who commit crimes while they are entrusted with an office that is meant to be used to represent the collective interests of their constituents?

Indeed, what occurs when lawmakers engage in self-serving agreements that solely benefit their political agendas, ultimately leading to the loss of a prominent anti-corruption journalist's life?

What happens is exactly what we’ve seen unfold in Malta over the last ten years.

After all, what is a state if not a powerful group that operates on a large scale? There is no greater tool to commit crimes on a massive scale than a government that wields the kind of influence that we see today.

Let’s not forget that the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry report found and concluded that it was a political assassination and that the state was mainly responsible.

We had a system of criminality operating across a continuum of legality and illegality driven by a strategic network of individual, corporate and state actors. The distinction between legitimate and illegitimate businesses became increasingly unclear, as profits gained through tax evasion and other criminal activities merged into laundered capital flows. Similarly, the difference between good and bad politics was indiscernible as corruption and abuse of power for personal gain became an ordinary way of governance. The money, muscle and power troika conducted a wide variety of illicit activities systematically to increase profits, power and political influence. This vast crime nexus undermined responsible government and democracy.

Concurrently, efforts to implement democratic measures aimed at combating organised crime were severely compromised by bribery and corruption. Indeed, through such processes, economic and political commitments to advance the public good were corrupted as democracy and the rule of law were perverted by a plutocracy that developed into a kleptocracy and a criminal state. Indeed, systematic theft by the ruling elite through the confluence of state and corporate crimes resulted in immeasurable harm and the obliteration of a prominent journalist in our country.

High-ranking politicians and government officials sought to control and extort criminal groups while providing immunity from regulations, monitoring and enforcement. At the same time, intentionally ambiguous laws and regulations were put in place to be enforced only erratically. Through such processes, traditional methods of crime deterrence deteriorated.

Indeed, the political strategy of tolerating local criminal groups brought unexpected results as it let the Trojan horse of racketeering and grand corruption into the walls of government. The favourable business climate attracted finances and investments from all over the world, including the criminal world. The result was a new structural synergy between business, crime and politics.

There flourished a web of corruption in connection with the multi-million-euro Electrogas deal; the fraudulent privatisation process of three hospitals, where the auditor general found evidence of lack of due diligence on the part of the investors; and the Pilatus Bank laundromat, among other scandals.

Malta under former prime minister Joseph Muscat had become a haven for organised crime and corruption: golden visa fraud; smuggling of weapons, oil, drugs, and people; illegal fishing; money laundering; and allowing Italian criminal groups to operate extensively from the country.

The vulnerability of Malta’s political institutions to conflicts of interest and corruption and the systemic lack of equality of citizens before the law were important factors leading to the immunity of the crime nexus. We had legislators acting as powerful politicians with connections to law enforcement and the judiciary, making them important brokers for organised crime networks. Consequently, a permissive legal environment was established and sustained, allowing illicit activities to thrive.

Such illegalities could not have been possible without the facilitation of public entities, often at the direction of high-ranking public officials.

Being at the very top of a government power structure means your word has the power to influence and shape virtually every major decision that is taken by the collective body you represent. Being a Cabinet minister means you get to shape a whole domain. Being a high-ranking staffer within one of these illustrious offices means you get to play a pivotal role in high-stakes, eleventh-hour negotiations that will directly affect the lives of people.

In the hands of benevolent individuals dedicated to serving society and fostering its growth, such a powerful collective can become an indomitable force for positive transformation. In the hands of bad people who wish to solely serve themselves, it is a machine that breeds criminality and impunity and can even go as far as to favour such an atrocity as the brutal murder of Daphne.

Corruption, then, was possibly just financial, but today it is moral.

The consequences of turning a blind eye go far beyond simply letting some corrupt politicians and bureaucrats walk free.

The current state of the nation warrants an extensive soul-searching exercise.