Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo has expressed his regret at not taking a stronger stance against government corruption but has said it was only recently that it became clear how bad the rot was.

“You might think I’m trying to get away from this but it was only recently that things became so clear to us,” Bartolo said during an interview on Deutsche Welle’s program Conflict Zone. “In 2016, I had warned there was a shadow government and a network of decision makers that were influencing what was happening. I think it was clear who I was referring to. I made internal pressure but I didn’t manage to get them out, I’m ready to concede that.”

Although Bartolo didn’t mention any names, he clearly appeared to be referring to the former Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi, who were both embroiled in the Panama Papers back in 2016.

When the scandal erupted, Bartolo was one of the most vocally critical people within the PL government and had publicly called for both Mizzi and Schembri to resign but ended up voting for Mizzi in a parliamentary confidence vote.

In his interview with Tim Sebastian, Bartolo said this was a compromise move, in which he voted in favour of Mizzi but ensured the government introduced new measures in favour of good governance.

“My single vote wouldn’t have made a difference,” he said. “I tried to use that to negotiate measures to hold the government to account. Some measures started getting introduced but when the news started coming in back in November [following the arrest of Yorgen Fenech], I made it very clear that I was going to resign.”

“I said either they go or I go and I made enough pressure for them to go.”

Bartolo said Malta’s corruption problems are a result of its small and small tightly-knit society, where “the rule of family and friends is stronger than the rule of law”.

“Malta is the size of Munich but has one third of its population and it’s true that when you look at the primary group of friends and family and the secondary groups where institutions should come in, the first and second groups are very porous and there’s no boundaries.”

“In our societies, it is an altogether more formidable challenge to ensure there is the rule of law.”

However, he said recent developments have led the country to a crossroads, where its entire sovereignty could be at risk unless certain actions are taken.

“This is a very important time for us, a time of truth. We’re at an existential crossroads since our independence 55 years ago. We either get our house in order or, I think, threaten our sovereignty and livelihood in Malta.”

In terms of tangible action, Bartolo called for the strengthening of the police’s Economic Crimes Unit, the unit in charge of investigating financial crime, describing it as “the weakest link in the chain”.

“Unless they are beefed up and truly resourced with well-qualified people of integrity, this problem will remain because ultimately we’ll be judged on how many people are prosecuted.”

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