A commitment to fighting corruption is a matter of integrity, and is therefore consistent

Adrian Delia, one of the four contenders for the Nationalist Party leadership, has said to Nationalist Party councillors that if he is elected party leader, he will be committed to the fight against corruption in the country, institutions and the government.

The flaw in his statement is the obvious one: a commitment to fighting corruption is a matter of integrity, and is therefore consistent. A man does not have to be Opposition leader to fight corruption. People fight corruption at many levels and lawyers are perfectly placed to do so.

What has Dr Delia done to fight or oppose corruption in the government and state institutions so far? That’s what we’re interested in knowing. If he does not become Opposition leader, will he then not do anything about corruption and continue to keep quiet as he has done so far? He should answer that question too.

Opposition to corruption grows out of personal integrity. It is not anger at the fact that some are getting a lot and you are getting nothing. It is not the means to an end (“I had better say that I am going to oppose corruption, to increase my chances of being elected.”) and it is most certainly not something only Opposition leaders can do.

Instead, Dr Delia has told us about his consistent commitment against football corruption – as though that is somehow relevant. On the contrary, telling us about his fight against football corruption – I’ll have to take his word for it here because I know nothing about the subject and couldn’t care less – is actually worse. The only proper conclusion to reach is that over the last few years he’s been more bothered by corruption in football than he has been by corruption in the government.