What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, Mr Prime Minister

The Minister for the Economy, off his face in one of Hugo Chetcuti’s bars some weeks ago – and this after it was revealed that he was living rent-free in a Portomaso flat supplied to him by a business operator buddy of his. But the prime minister has nothing to say about that.

The prime minister needs to explain why he has so much to say about a former cabinet minister, Joe Cassar, receiving 8,000 euros in construction work, 800 euros in CCTV cameras and an old car of 1,000 euros from the business operator Joe Gaffarena, when he had absolutely nothing to say about one of his current cabinet ministers, Chris Cardona, being given a Portomaso flat by another business operator, Silvan Fenech, to live in after he had to leave the marital home. This was a gift of rent-free lodgings conservatively estimated at around 14,000 euros for a few months – around 4,000 euros more than the value of the gifts Joe Cassar received from Gaffarena.

If the prime minister believes that his cabinet minister was planning to pay that rent, he will believe anything. But I don’t think he believes that at all.

If I hadn’t turned up unexpectedly at The Stable Bar one Friday afternoon when Chris Cardona should have been at his ministerial desk, found him there – WITH SILVAN FENECH – and quizzed him about it, then reported the matter on this website, Cardona wouldn’t even have had to pretend to have paid anything at all. Nobody would have known. He would have got away with it. He has still gotten away with it, but now, at least, people know.

When the matter was raised in parliament by the Opposition, Cardona was forced to produce a hastily cobbled together lease agreement which stipulated that he would only have to pay the rent as a lump sum a few days before the end of the lease period. In other words, that he can live there for several months without paying rent, and then pay Silvan Fenech for the entire period when he leaves.

What a joke. Nobody believed it.

And when the lease period expired last month, The Malta Independent followed up on the story after I flagged up a reminder to the press here on this website. I wasn’t about to go to The Stable again for another little chat with the Minister of the Economy to find out whether he had paid. He gave them a scan of a cancelled cheque for the amount of 14,000 euros, made out to Silvan Fenech. Because you know how it is – like that means anything at all between buddies. You give him a cheque; he deposits it and writes you another one, or gives you cash, or even more rent for free, or pays some more of your bills.

If you’re busy talking about Joe Cassar now, but have already forgotten that Chris Cardona – who is actually in power right now as we speak – took far more valuable gifts from a business operator and pretended to pay for them when the story broke and was then raised in parliament – then you are playing Labour’s game and falling into Labour’s trap.

Both Joe Cassar and Chris Cardona did wrong. The difference is that Chris Cardona is the one with a position from which he can and should resign.