Joseph Muscat Slams Robert Abela’s Confidantes: ‘They’re Too Impressed By A Few Facebook Posts’
Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has hit out at people who “have the ear” of his successor Robert Abela, claiming they are “too impressed by a couple of Facebook posts” and don’t appreciate the work it took to turn Labour into a victorious party.
“I think there are some people, very few people, who don’t appreciate the level of commitment and energy and the amount of work it took to bring so many people together,” Muscat said in an exclusive interview with Lovin Malta.
“They are well-intentioned, I must say, it’s not because they want to break up the movement or anything. However, they think that it’s only natural that PL is in government and they don’t remember, or probably weren’t even there, when we spent all those years in the wilderness of Opposition.”
“I wouldn’t say they are newcomers to the party, but I would say they were people who weren’t there and maybe don’t appreciate the work that was done by the grassroots and by people within PL, and even people who crossed over from the PN over the years in Opposition.”
Muscat kept his lips sealed on who these people are, refusing to confirm or deny whether any of them work at Castille.
“I think there are some people who are too impressed by a couple of Facebook posts and who would be willing to do things without having the historical knowledge of the repercussions of all this,” he said.
However, he did suggest that these unnamed people may have had a hand in government U-turns on decisions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think that if one takes a decision on a response to COVID-19, and I think they were the right decisions, then it’s obvious that one would be criticised,” he said.
Muscat criticised the government's U-turns with regards to COVID-19 measures
“If one is too liberal or laissez-faire, he or she will be criticised by the scientific community. If one abides by strict rules, they will be criticised by others. My point is to take a decision and go ahead.”
He said these U-turns didn’t come from Abela or Health Minister Chris Fearne, who he said is doing a “wonderful job”, but from “people who I think are spending their lives looking at social media and trying to please everyone”.
“You cannot please everyone,” the former Prime Minister said bluntly.
As an example of how he thinks the government should be more “resilient”, Muscat harked back to an incident back in 2010 when former Malta Developers’ Association head Sandro Chetcuti punched the late then-director-general of the GRTU Vince Farrugia in the face.
Chetcuti was subsequently charged with attempted murder but the Attorney General ended up dropping the charges.
“Years back, when I was still in Opposition, Sandro Chetcuti, who had just approached the PL, punched Vince Farrugia, God rest his soul, in the face,” Muscat recounted.
“It was a terrible mistake and maybe social media was in its infancy but I was getting calls to dump him, throw him away and have nothing to do with him. I did not do so though, because I like to think that I value people.”
“Thank God for that in this sense, because despite all the criticism I get for being friends with Sandro Chetcuti, he was one of the people who gave me some of the best ideas on say, the first time buyers scheme, and how to revive the economy and industry.”
Muscat urged the government not to let social media posts and comments dictate its agenda.
“I think decision making, policymaking, even how to deal with people, shouldn’t have anything to do with social media or the pressure one gets from it,” he said.
What do you make of Joseph Muscat’s statement?
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