Every fruit-picker will advise to watch out for a bad apple or the rotting peach, and separate them immediately from the rest of the fruit. They will insist you pick up the bad apple and dispose of it.
It is a principle that does not require a degree in Greek philosophy. In life, there will always be bad apples.
In normal circumstances pragmatists will always argue to choose the bad apples and throw them away. If there is a reason why this administration should be admonished, it’s precisely because of its inability to come to terms with this basic principle.
The front page story in today’s MaltaToday is a confirmation of that malaise, a malaise many thought would be addressed with the arrival of Lawrence Gonzi.
Under Eddie Fenech Adami, most of the bad apples were retained, promoted, or exiled but never discarded. Even worse, the bad apples of the former Mintoffian administration were simply repackaged and recycled back into the system. Some fine examples include Anglu Psaila and Charles Cassar, to name just a few.
In this so-called revamped administration, the bad apples, the ones on the verge of rot were also retained. Anyone who dared label them as bad apples were tainted as ‘character assassinators’.
In his new vision for Malta, Lawrence Gonzi failed to act when it came to addressing the issue of bad apples. Every time one was faced with a case of bad apples, such as in the case of the Maritime Authority, ADT and others, the administration stood by and defended the politically appointed directors and ministers who ran these agencies.
The Richard Muscat case is perhaps symptomatic of this malaise. Everyone knows how Richard Muscat managed the Voice Of The Mediterranean radio station and yet, when it came to the crunch, the same Nationalists who knew Muscat and derided him behind closed doors, chose to defend him.
Richard Muscat had, or has a very high opinion of himself. An advert for a lecture in September that he will be probably be cancelling, describes Richard Muscat as the following: “Richard Muscat, a great example of a “prudent man”, exiled for political reasons, as he likes to define himself, spent six years exiled in Italy, where he founded and managed for several years the Radio station The Voice of the Mediterranean.”
A muddled advert but one that surely proves what many have long believed.
Richard Muscat’s skills at management were well known, but for his far from sterling service at Radio 101, he was awarded the management of Voice of the Mediterranean – a silly appointment, but one that was sanctioned from the very top.
In the midst of the controversy, he was appointed ambassador to Ireland and then, when everyone thought that his time was up and that perhaps one should move forward, the foreign ministry reappointed him for another year. Simply unbelievable!
Richard Muscat carries with him the mythology of the Nationalist Party. From the hills of Sicily he transmitted illegally to the island of Malta back in the times of Dom Mintoff’s premiership. And his exploits as a hero against the excesses of Mintoffianism have been inscribed with much pomp in the history of the Nationalist party.
In the libel case against this newspaper, he has literally shed tears and cried in court, attempting to impress upon the court when stating that our references to his other son, who worked for a smallish company that worked specifically for the Voice of the Mediterranean, had hurt him deeply.
Needless to say, the exploits of his other son Massimo who allegedly groped an Irish woman and then allegedly assaulted another, will definitely contribute to our image in the Republic of Ireland. He has said that the newspapers who reported the incident in Ireland are inventing. It is good to know that there are other newspapers who write about Muscat. It took ten months for Richard Muscat to inform his minister of the incident and only because of the reports in the Friday edition of the Irish papers.
The error of reappointing Richard Muscat must be haunting Michael Frendo. But his decision to waive diplomatic immunity for Richard Muscat’s son should be commended. Richard Muscat will be a distraught man but at least he did what every father is expected to do, protect his family. Even when it is wrong, there is some dignity in that kind of behaviour.
There are many parallels to the Richard Muscat story.
The case of GRTU vice-president Mario Debono on the back page is a perfect example of this. Richard Muscat at least had the decorum of realising that he had to resign. In the Mario Debono case, we are reminded that even saints in heaven make mistakes.
Anyone who has the time should read the statute of the GRTU. It says and I quote: 13 (1)(d) If the person is found guilty on matters of public trust and/or property as stipulated in Criminal code (chapter 12). Rocket science is not a requisite to understanding the implications of such a statute. It goes without saying that Mario Debono cannot remain a member of the GRTU, but Vince Farrugia, who heads the GRTU, says “Even saints in heaven make big mistakes.”
And he continued. “If he had stolen GRTU property or used its letterheads, then that would be a breach of public trust. However this (Debono’s conviction) is not something that affects the integrity of his work within the GRTU.”
Those are of course Farrugia’s words. Debono’s words, in his electronic messages to MEP Joseph Muscat, were of course of no consequence to most GRTU members; they were only limited to labelling Joseph Muscat a ‘Goebbels’, Alfred Sant a ‘mental masturbator’, Manwel Cuschieri a ‘maqjel’ and George Vella a ‘birdbrain’.
There are more emails which I would have no problem copying in this column to show to what level Mr Mario Debono has stooped. And I assure anyone, including the GRTU members, that the ones published are chicken feed compared to these.
And then the cherry on the cake has to be Vince Farrugia’s libellous comment when he claimed that MaltaToday “is being paid” to carry the stories on Mario Debono.
I’ll just take Vince for what he is: garrulous. But before parting, Farrugia should know that the references to the GRTU statute came our way thanks to the kind interest of some GRTU members.
The men we are not is best appreciated by the institutions which continue to defend the indefensible: the Church who in the past has taken ages before acting over those who abuse sexually; the government who reappoints the directors and chief executives who have mismanaged our resources; the political parties which stand by their activists even when they slip up.
An anonymous columnist in l-orrizont hit out at MaltaToday for the bullish reportage of the launch of the MLP’s Pjan ta’ Bidu Gdid (Plan for a New Beginning). So far so good. And as usual, the anonymous writer fell into his paranoid mode and accused MaltaToday of being in cahoots with the PN.
Well, the reason that Platernian – who happens to be a senior Air Malta official – keeps writing hogwash is because he has not got the balls to print his articles with his real name.
Next time he puts pen to paper, I suggest he talks about the awful relations that exist between the l-orrizont news staff and the Malta Labour party.
Platernian should perhaps say that with the present sour relations that exist, the only person who will ever get as close to Alfred Sant and Jason Micallef is Lou Bondì and perhaps the editor of il-Gens, Karl Wright.
If he wants confirmation of this he can ask the gentle but hardworking editor of l-orrizont, Mr Frans Ghirxi. I am sure that he will oblige to say how cordial the MLP has been to him in recent months.

sbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt