Muscat’s cabinet omerta’ – Kevin Cassar

“Cabinet endorsed all decisions,” Muscat declared. “I confirm that all the stages of the hospitals concession involved continuous discussions and documented decisions by cabinet”.

Muscat is lying. He knows it.  So do his cabinet colleagues.

Why does Muscat keep shafting his colleagues, even now? Because he knows them better than anybody else – every single one of them. He knows what slimy opportunists, what spineless specimens they are.  He has no doubt they’ll keep silent.  He’s convinced no matter how outrageous and false his statements, none has the backbone to confront him. Not a single one will call him out.  They’ll lie low, cower in fear and bide their time while their former boss incriminates them in his own malignant actions. He dumps his guilt onto them. They continue to bow before him and stick to omerta’.

Muscat didn’t have “continuous discussions” with his cabinet about his rotten Vitals scheme. The NAO lambasted the “government’s failure to refer important contractual changes to the cabinet”. This wasn’t a one-off.  It was “a recurring shortcoming”.  The same report noted “with concern” that the addendum to the Labour Supply Agreement “was never authorised by cabinet”.  The addendum to the Services Concession Agreement “was not authorised by cabinet” either. The government’s representatives, that’s Konrad Mizzi acting on the orders of Muscat, endorsed multiple waivers “while bypassing cabinet”.

Chris Fearne testified that although he was health minister, Konrad Mizzi, with Muscat’s blessing, concluded “decisions and agreements” behind his back. The court noted that even while Fearne was the minister responsible, Mizzi “for no logical reason or explanation, was still the government signatory for Vitals”.

There is a perfectly logical reason why Muscat kept Mizzi – they were both scheming behind their cabinet colleagues’ backs.

And yet, all of Muscat’s cabinet remains silent, letting him get away with distortions and deceptions.

Evarist Bartolo, the man with a spine of hot butter, posts more of his cryptic messages.  But he can’t even mention Muscat’s name. He poses foggy questions:  “is it fair to use the cabinet as a smokescreen?”.  This is beyond what’s fair and unfair. This is not a game. This is deadly.

Muscat’s rottenness is inextricably intertwined with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. As she got closer to establishing Yorgen Fenech’s ownership of 17 Black and the dirty millions it was meant to pump into Keith Schembri’s and Konrad Mizzi’s secret companies, Bartolo engaged in pathetic nonsense on Facebook. He’s still at it, years after she was killed to stop her from reaching her target. He’s still cowering in awe of Muscat.  He can’t even bring himself to talk straight. He won’t state the truth that Muscat is lying. Maybe he’s still holding out for the presidency.

Chris Fearne is now being blamed for the Vitals-Steward mess and he is being called upon, for good reason, to shoulder political responsibility.  Fearne testified that he was kept in the dark and that Konrad Mizzi was making decisions behind his back. Fearne didn’t even know what was in those agreements until the first payments were due to Vitals.

Yet Fearne allowed himself to be used by Joseph Muscat. Fearne’s credibility allowed Muscat to sell a rotten deal to the people. Fearne stood next to Vitals’ Ram Tumuluri and deceived the nation with his empty promises. And when the Vitals scam inevitably collapsed, Fearne was there again pushing Steward as the “real deal” and propping up Muscat.

Muscat shifts the blame to Fearne. And Fearne keeps mum. Why? Is he still hoping for his next promotion, to the European Commission? If anybody has good reason to reveal Muscat’s and Mizzi’s despicable schemes, it’s Fearne.

And where’s Edward Scicluna, whose finance ministry wasn’t even involved in the €4 billion deal? He’s still gorging himself at the Central Bank trough.  His silence is well and truly guaranteed.

And George Vella, our President? He was part of that cabinet too. Has he uttered a word? He never has. Not even when the information he was given could provide a lead to solving Raymond Caruana’s murder did he find the courage to speak up. He claimed professional secrecy to evade his responsibility to the nation and to Caruana’s family.

Besides, President Vella is Joseph Cuschieri’s father-in-law. Cuschieri is one of Muscat’s closest lieutenants.  He’s Yorgen Fenech’s travel buddy. He worked closely with Konrad Mizzi’s wife, Sai, on the Huawei scam. Despite his gross irregularities at the Malta Financial Services Authority, no action has been taken against him.  He still sits on the board of directors of Malta Strategic Partnership Projects Limited, formerly Projects Malta.

George Vella vociferously defended Muscat and attacked the opposition for alleging corruption on 4 May 2016. He raged against the opposition deputy leader, shouting, “I challenge him to mention concrete facts.”

Mr President, the court has shown you ample concrete facts.  Will you finally find your voice? No, I didn’t think so.

None of them will speak up. Not even their leader and Prime Minister Robert Abela. The man who acted as consultant to Joseph Muscat and who took over from him is now washing his hands of the whole sordid affair.

“I had no role,” he says. No shame, more like. Abela was there when that €100 million gift for Steward was endorsed. Abela was the one who let Muscat accompany Armin Ernst to their meeting in Castille. Abela’s the one who’s been pumping tens of millions of euros of our money into Steward for the last three years.

Matteo Messina Denaro, the Sicilian boss of bosses, was finally caught after 30 years on the run. When the police confronted him and asked who he was Denaro replied: “You know who I am, Matteo Messina Denaro”. When caught, Denaro admitted.  When Muscat was caught, he blamed his cabinet colleagues. Denaro has more honour than Muscat.

Years after being forced out, Muscat continues to abuse and incriminate his colleagues. Instead of jointly denouncing him, his ministers remain silent – omerta’.

The truth can’t be hidden forever.  It will emerge.  When it does not even all of great Neptune’s oceans will wash their conscience clean.