We live in such a corrupt island, where the abuse of power has been normalized along with abnormal people in public life

I imagine you are curious to know what I think about yesterday’s chaos in the Appeals Court, involving the Labour mayor of Zurrieq and his four-day prison sentence. I don’t particular care whether the seriously abnormal (and it would have to be a seriously abnormal political party to accept him as a candidate) Ignatius Farrugia goes to prison or not.

Malta is not a normal country, but a bizarre island crowded with peculiar people who are either completely mad, very dotty, deeply stupid, totally malicious or a combination of all of those things. It’s clearly a bad mixture of genetics and social challenges but this is not the time and place to discuss all that. The point here is that having people in public life who would be considered completely abnormal outside Malta – people like Ignatius Farrugia (and be sure that I am not referring to his sexuality, whatever that may be) – is considered normal and nothing worthy of comment, and that in itself is one reason why Malta is considered bizarre by those who are not Maltese and by some of us who are.

Here is what I think: that we have descended to the pits of ineptitude, abuse of power, trading in influence, cronyism and corruption. Boiled down to its essence, this is what happened.

A Labour-appointed judge sits in judgement over a Labour mayor who is defended by a Labour-appointed president of the Labour-constituted Law Reform Commission, who is also a consultant to the Labour Prime Minister.

The judge hands down howler of a judgement which overturns the lower court’s decision that he should be fined 2,400 euros for harassing, in a public street, a critic of the Labour Party, but instead sends him to prison for four days for disturbing the public peace. He reads this judgement in open court, he gives it to the other party’s lawyer to read, it is broadcast on TVM and published by The Malta Independent.

But then the Labour-appointed president of the Labour-constituted Law Reform Commission goes into the Labour-appointed judge’s chambers for a quiet chat and the judge does something unheard of in the history of Maltese law (and probably everywhere else outside the Third World too). Instead of telling the defence lawyer to follow procedure, challenge the judgement in the Constitutional Court and/or petition the head of state through the regular channels for a pardon, the judge petitions the head of state himself, directly..

The Labour-appointed head of state, until recently a cabinet minister with this very same Labour government (and a former secretary-general of the Labour Party) consults with the Labour Justice Minister who appointed the judge, and they agree immediately that the Labour mayor should be pardoned. Within a mere two hours, the Labour mayor is out of prison – the speediest and most abusive pardon ever in the history of corruption and cronyism.

The proper procedures for a pardon are cast aside and no documents are published, giving one to understand that it was all conducted over the telephone with documents to be produced after the fact if journalists and Opposition MPs become difficult, like Chris Cardona’s rental contract.

The obvious question here is: if they have done this for their mate Natius in full view of the press and the public, who else have they done it for in complete secrecy?

Shocking abuse. This government is beyond disgusting. It is criminal. See beneath for pictures of what, in any civilised society, would be considered the demi-monde.

On the beach

With former Labour Minister and current European Commissioner Karmenu Vella

After a long, hard night (or day) at the waxing machine in his beauty salon, Natius Ola

With soldier of steel Cyrus Engerer, the Prime Minister’s non-Sherpa in Brussels

With the Prime Minister at a wedding he officiated as mayor of Zurrieq

With Labour Minister Helena Dalli

With Labour Minister Helena Dalli’s consultant and person of trust (who Dalli put on the ministry payroll because she is her personal friend), Marisa Schembri

With Iosif Galea, whose father is chief of staff to Labour Minister Michael Farrugia, and whose Super One girlfriend was put on the ministry payroll

With Ramona Attard, ex Super One, now on the payroll at the Office of the Prime Minister as a communications consultant

With the Labour Prime Minister, looking spectacularly and inappropriately camp

With Labour-appointed magistrate Consuelo Herrera, whose brother is a Labour parliamentary secretary who reports to Labour Minister Chris Cardona