Labour’s willingness to inherit the fascist label

Government wants to change the way ordinary citizens can request a magisterial inquiry but has presented no details despite tabling the First Reading in parliament. 

The planned changes, if they have been drafted yet, are a well-guarded secret it seems. Not even the Chamber of Advocates has been consulted so far. We do not know if any consultation has taken place with the judiciary let alone with other interested stakeholders. 

Judging by the fast-track approach adopted by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard to present the First Reading, we will not hold our breath waiting for meaningful consultation to take place. 

The political rhetoric promoted by the Prime Minister and his acolytes so far suggests the government will propose changes that would make it harder for ordinary citizens to file requests for magisterial inquiries. Abela disguises this by using the word “responsibilisation” instead of “adding more hurdles”. There could be several ways of doing this short of abolishing the right altogether. 

The government may opt to introduce some form of exorbitant monetary deposit that the person making the request will have to pay; it may insist that the complaint be backed up by stronger evidence; it may also prevent such requests from being made unless other remedies at law have been exhausted. Any or all of these will introduce a barrier that would make it extremely hard for ordinary citizens to seek a magisterial inquiry. 

Government exponents have argued that any citizen who feels aggrieved or has knowledge of a crime can file a report with the police. The problem arises when the police fail to act like they did when the Panama Papers scandal erupted. 

During testimony given in the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry it emerged that the police had ignored a recommendation by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) to take possession of the computers belonging to audit firm Nexia BT over suspicions of widespread money laundering. At the time, the police acted on the advice of the Attorney General who deemed such an action extreme. 

In circumstances like this where the police and the AG refused to act despite the intelligence received from the FIAU, the only route left to try and preserve evidence was to initiate a magisterial inquiry. 

Had Simon Busuttil and later David Casa not taken the step to request an inquiry into the Panama Papers and Dubai company 17 Black, today we would be no closer to seeing justice being done. 

Now, because former MP Jason Azzopardi has gotten under the government’s skin with his repeated requests for magisterial inquiries into claims of wrongdoing by elected officials and public servants, Robert Abela wants to strangle this right. 

It is clear that Abela is only going down this road to try and appease the wolves within his party who blame him for abandoning Labourites and are baying for his blood. He wants to show the hard core Muscatians that he can be tough on government’s opponents. In doing so, Abela is willing to run roughshod over the rest of society. 

Even if the manner by which Azzopardi has been requesting magisterial inquiries left, right and centre, raises question marks over his true intentions, the Labour government does not have the moral authority to restrict anyone’s right to request a magisterial inquiry. 

Abela leads a political party that has its former leader facing corruption charges in court and several other former exponents who are indicted on serious criminal charges in the Vitals case. He leads a party that has former exponents facing impending criminal action over their links to 17 Black and Yorgen Fenech. He leads a party that just had two ministers censored by the Standards Commissioner. 

This is why the latest attempt to stifle the right to request a magisterial inquiry is suspicious and condemnable. 

Ironically, in 2006 the Labour Party had stood up for the independence of magistrates and defended the people’s right to request an inquiry when the Nationalist government attempted to introduce a control mechanism over inquests. 

Labour MPs had accused the PN government of “fascist tactics”. The PN attempt to change the goalposts for magisterial inquiries was viewed as a reaction to the embarrassment it suffered as a result of the findings of a magisterial inquiry into the workings of the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools. 

Nineteen years later it seems the Labour Party and Abela are happy to inherit the fascist label they attributed to their opponents.