As of last week, I have been pursuing comments from both the PES and the S&D representatives regarding the participation of former Prime Minister and former MEP Joseph Muscat, who is under investigation for money laundering, bribery, fraud, and corruption, in an election campaign event for one of their MEPs and current candidates, Alex Agius Saliba. None of them replied to my questions or took my calls. The event was attended by all Labour Party MEP candidates except for Cyrus Engerer who is also not contesting the upcoming elections.
In Malta, there were a lot of rumours about the Party of European Socialists or the Socialists & Democrats umbrella of the European Parliament being concerned about Joseph Muscat’s potential candidacy to the European Parliament. In actual fact they don’t care and the S&D even has a history of promoting Alex Agius Saliba extensively in the European Parliament as one of their emerging leaders. The situation is not just bizarre, it’s also a deep insult to us Maltese, to all journalists and to Daphne Caruana Galizia herself. The fact that the S&D would exploit Alex Agius Saliba’s popularity at home to poster him in Brussels as one of their most promoted members in Parliament smacks of amorality and a total disregard of any political principle.
So, what are the “socialists and democrats” in the European Parliament all about? The European People’s Party took the initiative and forced Viktor Orban’s party out of its umbrella, but the PES can’t even bother to tell the Labour Party in Malta to moderate its criminality, let alone to stop exporting its brand of criminal politicians to Brussels. Essentially, there’s a strong likelihood that the Labour Party will elect three representatives to the European Parliament endorsed by Joseph Muscat, who are actively defending him by attacking journalists, the judiciary, and authorities investigating him. Labour Party MEP candidate Daniel Attard even informed his supporters that he anticipates police action against critics of Joseph Muscat.
The S&D did not discuss the issue of Joseph Muscat internally and they are not concerned about the quality or type of candidates running for the European Parliament under their ticket. There is also no vetting of candidates and no mediation with the local parties on their selection of candidates to the European Parliament. The Labour Party has a free hand to proceed in any way it seems fit, and although Robert Abela forced Joseph Muscat not to contest the elections under the Labour Party’s ticket, his MEP candidates are more loyal to Joseph Muscat in spirit then they are to him. In a way, Alex Agius Saliba humiliated Robert Abela and created his own faction in the Labour Party that expressly disregards Robert Abela’s ultimate political wishes while the S&D will be working with Joseph Muscat’s acolytes.
So, if you haven’t realised, the Labour Party is already splitting into two major factions that are not just at loggerheads about political positions because their leaders are consumed by their struggles to avoid jail time like a typical criminal organisation that is beset with infighting. Robert Abela has the slight upper hand by preventing Joseph Muscat from contesting the elections and now he is condemned to political obscurity and fighting legal battles on his own, yet Joseph Muscat still commands significant numbers in the Labour Party that could prove to be influential in another leadership race.
Website Editor
Historian and Publisher
Leave a Reply