Ruling elites can resort to various options to silence dissent. These include co-opting, seducing, deceiving, bribing and using brute force. In liberal democracies, methods such as terror and violence are less possible due to factors such as media scrutiny, civil society activism, political pluralism, rule of law and voter response.
But in Malta, Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered. Two years later, omerta' is imploding. Joseph Muscat has lost all political legitimacy.
The criminal investigation of his right hand man, Keith Schembri is enough to rubbish Muscat's claims of political stability. If the Prime Minister really wants stability, he should resign immediately.
He has not only surrounded himself with kingpins of corruption who are being investigated in connection with the murder of Caruana Galizia, but he gave them his blessing for years. The cherry on the cake was when he had the gall to thank Schembri for his work once the latter ran out of options.
As I am writing this blog I am watching Finance Minister Edward Scicluna sounding like an apologetic Soviet appartchik on One TV. It would have been better if he apologized for his role as Minister in the Electrogas financial deal and in the weakening of the the FIAU and the MFSA. Luckily not everyone is so spineless.
In the meantime, Joseph Muscat must be in panic mode. It is the only way how I can interpret his emphasis for the rallying of troops on Sunday. He may even get softer in the coming days to try to show us that he is listening. But tricks can go stale. Especially when omerta' is giving way to struggles for personal survival by implicated actors.
Public declarations and actions against the mess are flourishing. Different voices are expressing their dissent in their own ways.
Let's not be detracted by divisive tactics, hunches, grudges, antipathies and affiliations. To be effective, a worthy cause requires commitment, unity and numbers.
Our chorus is that Joseph Muscat's time is up. Let's sustain it.
