It was a classic case of judging the international political context by the local yardstick. Secondly, his standard formulaic response – ‘I will await the outcome of ongoing inquiries’ – did not take into consideration the widespread international scepticism (justified or otherwise) in Malta’s investigative institutions. He evidently underestimated the extent of the international interest in this case, at both media and political levels: possibly under the impression that his own unassailability at the polls would be enough to legitimize his decision to retain those two officials in the eyes of the rest of the world.
There were, however, some factors that Muscat did not include in his calculations. Perhaps buoyed by his own extraordinary popularity ratings, Muscat evidently felt he could weather the storm long enough for this episode to eventually be forgotten. But while inquiries were initiated – some of which are still underway – the truth is that neither of those things really happened. Mizzi and Schembri have both admitted to owning the Panama companies, but denied ever receiving any cash payments, or that there was any connection with the multi-million tender awarded to Electrogas for a new, gas-fired power station in Delimara.Įven without the latest revelations, there was already more than enough grounds to both remove those two officials from their positions, and also to investigate the matter as a potential case of corruption.
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