It has been more than two months since Prime Minister Joseph Muscat pledged to publish a redacted version of the Egrant inquiry. He claimed he was adamant to publish the inquiry despite all legal advice urging him otherwise. And there seemed little reason to doubt him. After all, the inquiry’s published conclusions very clearly pitched him as the winner of this long saga, rather than the ultimate owner of the Panamanian company.

And yet, two months later, the full Egrant inquiry is nowhere to be seen. Surely, ample time has passed for redaction.

Nor has there been any visible movement from the police despite the fact that a whole (unpublished) chapter of the inquiry supposedly made recommendations for further investigations and police actions, though we still don’t know against whom.

The Opposition leader complicated things by initiating a court case in which he insists he should be given a full copy of the inquiry by virtue of his Constitutional position. The case seemed interesting at first, mostly because of the 20+ witnesses he named. But now, the case is being used by Muscat to delay the publication of the Egrant inquiry. After saying he was willing to ignore all legal advice to fulfil his promise to publish the inquiry, Muscat now claims he wants to wait for the outcome of the court case before making up his mind. And judging by how long court cases tend to take on the island – especially when they involve high-profile politicians who find every excuse not to show up in court – this effectively gives him many months, if not years, before he has to publish it.

For all we know, Muscat will not even be Prime Minister by the time the court case is over. Perhaps he’ll get his wish and be European Council President by the time we get to scrutinise the inquiry that supposedly exculpated him. Or maybe his term would already be over. And then what? What relevance would it have?

At face value, by refusing to publish the inquiry until Delia’s court case is concluded, Muscat is turning the tables on the Opposition leader. Maybe he is trying to pressure Delia to drop the case, which, given the list of witnesses, could become highly embarrassing for government. (After all, the first sitting has already revealed that the Justice Minister was emailed a copy of the inquiry by the Attorney General, no-questions-asked, on the dubious pretence the he was legal counsel to Muscat – something he is legally not allowed to do in his role as Minister, especially when considering Muscat requested the inquiry in his personal capacity.)

But in reality, there is no real link between Muscat’s original pledge and Delia’s court case. What Delia is demanding is the full copy of the inquiry, in the same way it has been given to the Prime Minister. He is also trying to set a precedent about the need for the Opposition leader to have the same access to important political information as the Prime Minister.

Delia’s court case should not impinge on the Prime Minister’s decision to publish a redacted version of the Egrant inquiry for public consumption, as he pledged to do. Failing to do so – or waiting months or years to do so – will simply be yet another example of lack of transparency and failing to do what was promised.

Delia’s court case should not impinge on the Prime Minister’s decision to publish a redacted version of the Egrant inquiry for public consumption, as he pledged to do. Failing to do so – or waiting months or years to do so – will simply be yet another example of lack of transparency and failing to do what was promised. Yet again, Muscat would have said one thing and done another, no matter how many intellectual hoops he tries to make us go through to find it acceptable.

On his end, Delia needs to realise that his decision to start this court case is also under scrutiny. Besides giving Muscat an excuse to delay the inquiry’s publication, he has also precipitated a situation which could ‘force’ the Prime Minister not to publish it at all. Imagine, for example, if the court rules that the inquiry should in no means be made public. Muscat would then have a valid reason to say he does not want to be in contempt of court. And that will mean the inquiry will never see the light of day.

Therefore, if Delia is going to persist with this court case, he desperately needs to make sure it’s not going to be a waste of our time. He also needs to convince the more skeptical Nationalists that his move was in no way intended to make life easier for Muscat or delay the publication of an inquiry that could prove embarrassing to people very close to him.

And Muscat? Well, he needs to explain why he’s using the court case to buy more time, when he specifically said he would never change his mind about publishing the inquiry in full.

Lovin Malta has filed a Freedom of Information request for the redacted Egrant inquiry. Share this article if you agree that it should be published.

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Chris Peregin

Christian is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who founded Lovin Malta, a new media company dedicated to creating positive impact in society. He is passionate about justice, public finances and finding ways to build a better future.