Why Edward Scicluna should step down

Edward Scicluna is correct when he says there is no legal obligation for him to resign just because he has been charged in court. He is also correct when he says that neither the government nor the Opposition can force him out. 

The Central Bank of Malta Act states: “The Governor and the Deputy Governors may be relieved of their office only if they no longer fulfil the conditions required for the performance of their duties or if they have been guilty of serious misconduct.” 

This means that Scicluna would have to be found guilty to be removed from governor. The same holds for his position on the European Central Bank’s governing council. 

This legal proviso is intended to protect the independence of the CBM and its highest officials. It also serves as a deterrent against spurious or false accusations that may be levelled towards the CBM’s top officials by third parties who may have ulterior motives. 

Scicluna was charged with several crimes that suggest dereliction of duty as finance minister between 2015 and 2020 in connection with the Vitals hospitals privatisation deal. Last Wednesday, the court ruled there was enough evidence for Scicluna and others to stand trial. Scicluna is pleading not guilty. 

Scicluna, like former deputy prime minister Chris Fearne, is claiming that he was not privy to arrangements between then minister Konrad Mizzi and Vitals, later to become Steward. The Auditor General also testified that an investigation into the deal by the National Audit Office found no wrongdoing on Scicluna’s and Fearne’s part. 

It also has to be noted that Scicluna is not the only member of the ECB to be facing ongoing criminal procedures related to alleged misdeeds before their time as ECB members. The justification for not resigning is always the same – until a case is definitely decided, nobody can force them out. 

It is necessary to understand this context before proceeding to pass judgement on Scicluna’s decision to push back against calls for his resignation.   

Scicluna knows that the charges he faces were the result of a magisterial inquiry that took more than four years to investigate the different facets of the hospitals deal. He knows that this deal was so rotten that the civil court last year struck it down. 

The accusations he faces may not be the most serious among all those that are to stand trial in this case but they are nonetheless serious enough to warrant the resignation of Chris Fearne from deputy prime minister, the Cabinet and now even deputy leader of the Labour Party. 

Scicluna knows full well that with this grey cloud hanging over his head it is the country’s reputation that could be put at risk. It may be unfair for the country to suffer the consequences of one man’s behaviour but whether we like it or not, Malta is a small country and if push comes to shove on the international stage, it always stands to lose. 

We’ve already been through this when Malta was placed on the FATF greylist. Scicluna of all people knows what painstaking efforts were done for Malta to exit the greylist after just 12 months. 

The national interest is at stake. By refusing to step down he is unfortunately allowing self-interest to prevail. 

Nonetheless, there is one other aspect, which may seem a minor detail that cannot be overlooked. Scicluna has not denied having sent a message to Labour delegates in which he defended his decision to stay put while framing the whole affair as an attempt by the Nationalists to bring him down. 

The CBM governor was given the opportunity to deny such a claim but he skirted the issue and would neither confirm nor deny. 

Such a message from the governor to delegates of a political party belies the very notion of independence that the law seeks to imbue on the CBM’s top officials. 

If anything, this is another reason why Scicluna must step down. 

The former finance minister has every right to defend himself in court but he should carry out that battle as a private citizen and not as governor of the Central Bank.