People need reminding that the new power station will be privately-owned

Konrad Mizzi and Edward Scicluna have been left to face the music while the Prime Minister shows magnificent leadership by staying out of it and partying in Gozo with Michelle, Elena and Edward Zammit Lewis.

ElectroGas Malta Ltd issued a statement today pointing out that its gas-fired power plant is not a “government project”.

This reminder could not be more timely. The pro-Labour commenters on the various newspaper comments-boards appear to be under the impression that the power station is “a national project” and that it will be state-owned.

In their minds, they have used this to justify the way the government is bending over backwards to accommodate Electrogas Malta Ltd, which is a private company though some of its shareholding is held ultimately by the state of Azerbaijan.

The full abusive absurdity of the government guaranteeing this private company’s debts to the tune of 360 million euros is not getting through to those people because they are under the impression that the private company is building the power station for the government and not for itself, to sell power to the government.

The rest of the company’s press statement is a turgid justification of the fact that the government of Malta has guaranteed 360 million euros of its debt, and is almost unreadable. But the bit that caught my attention was how ElectroGas Malta “was awarded the contract through a stringent competitive selection process”.

You have to laugh. What a country. The only way to survive in this country is with a sense of humour. A sense of justice alone will drive you nuts.