TMIS Editorial: A suspension and a forced move

Prime Minister Robert Abela made it clear that he wanted Edward Scicluna to resign as Central Bank governor. Scicluna knows what is best for the national interest, Abela said more than once. The correct decision for Scicluna can be seen from the exam

By: independent.com.mt

Aug 09 2024
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TMIS Editorial: A suspension a

Fearne resigned his position after a court ruled that, prima facie, enough evidence exists for him to be indicted following the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry into the now-rescinded hospitals deal. Incidentally, Fearne and Scicluna are both named in the same court case that was filed against a number of persons and companies as a result of the inquiry. So what the Prime Minister intended when he said that Scicluna should follow Fearne’s example was for the governor to resign.

But Scicluna did not. What he was persuaded to do, reluctantly, was suspend his role until the end of the court proceedings against him. And he’s keeping half his salary too, making it look as if it’s a big sacrifice. Putting things into perspective, half of Scicluna’s earnings is more than what PM Abela pockets, and more than three times the average national wage.

Speaking to journalists, Abela went into a convoluted explanation about how governors are protected at law, but the end result is that Abela’s intentions were shot down. Abela wanted Scicluna to go, but he lacked the authority to sack him. And Scicluna resisted the idea to resign.

The opposition to the idea at Cabinet level was too great for Abela to overcome, exposing the prime minister’s weakness. The possibility that, if Abela had gone ahead and dismissed Scicluna, the latter could have resorted to international legal action must have also shocked Abela into accepting that he had no power to remove the governor if the latter did not want to budge. It’s clear that Abela thought he could bully Scicluna into a resignation, but the governor did not want to listen. The PM promised action, but he could not fulfil his pledge.

Scicluna had been resisting calls for resignation ever since his name appeared on the charge sheet. The way Central Bank governors are protected gave Scicluna the strength to throw Abela’s wishes back to the PM’s face. Having said this, given his predicament, Scicluna should have taken the honourable way out and resign, irrespective of the protection afforded to people in his position. It’s a question of dignity and respect.

What must also be highlighted is that while Abela wanted Fearne to reconsider his resignation, and waited until a magistrate ruled that enough evidence existed prima facie for Fearne to stand trial before making up his mind on Malta’s European Commissioner, the prime minister then was pushing for Scicluna to quit – when Fearne and Scicluna are on the same charge sheet.

This takes us to the forced decision that the Prime Minister had to make with regard to Malta’s nominee as a European commissioner. It was last January that Fearne was handpicked for the job, so much so that the PM went through a substantial Cabinet reshuffle to formalise his plan.

But things changed dramatically when the hospitals’ inquiry was concluded, and Fearne was on the list of people charged with wrongdoing. Fearne immediately realised the seriousness of the case, and resigned even though Abela begged him to stay on. The PM kept hoping that Fearne would be acquitted in time for him (Fearne) to be named as Malta’s commissioner, giving little thought to the possibility that Fearne’s nomination could have been turned down, putting Malta in bad light on the international stage. Abela went as far as putting pressure on the magistrate dealing with the case involving Fearne. But, in the end, Abela had to give in.

Instead of Fearne, Abela did not choose one of his Cabinet members to be Malta’s representative, as has been the case since Malta joined the EU.

It could be that Abela does not think that any one of them has the ability to fulfil the role, which would indicate that the PM has strong reservations about all of them.

It could also be that Abela does not want to rock the boat any further, given that he has already reshuffled his team last January, and the Labour Party itself is already going through some rough times as it prepares to replace its two deputy leaders who have called it quits.

Abela has chosen his former head of secretariat Glenn Micallef who, we are told, has the necessary skills for the job. Time will tell whether he has the political acumen for it, and his first big test will be at the grilling at the European Parliament.

That Abela picked just one name – and rejected the suggestion to nominate a man and a woman for the post – also shows a kind of defiance towards Ursula von der Leyen, and that he does not think highly of the women around him.