During the first couple of years Robert Abela was Prime Minister, the Labour Party was boasting that no corruption scandals unfolded under the watch of the new premier and the Opposition was only mentioning corruption scandals of the past. Things got quickly out of hand as the Labour government covered up for Joseph Muscat and his associates and the Prime Minister enabled a culture of corruption among his ministers.
Silvio Schembri, one of the Labour Party’s wonderkids and Minister for the Economy, is getting freebies and discounts from property developers who are receiving from his Ministry and its entities great deals off public land. Two of these cases involving exchanges between Silvio Schembri and property developers include a land deal with Anton Camilleri, “Tal-Franciz”, from whom he rented an office for just โฌ3.5 per day. Another case is with Paul Attard of GAP from who he also rented an office while GAP got an exquisite public land deal at a discount. Silvio Schembri avoided a Magisterial Inquiry against him at the eleventh hour when the Labour government changed the law on Magisterial Inquiries. Silvio Schembri also covered up for Kurt Buhagiar and Matthew Schembri, who also happens to be the nephew of George Muscat, the previous chairman of GAP.
In conventional English, Silvio Schembriโs actions would raise suspicions of what is generally called corruption and bribery. Under the Labour government, however, he can engage in such public acts of corruption with impunity, because this kind of behaviour has become normalised. Even though everyone in the Labour Party knows he is enriching himself through his government post, he continues unabated, because the Prime Minister is expressly allowing it.
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