Steward’s shock – Kevin Cassar

“Preliminary reviews of the judgement showed it contained significant flaws in reasoning,” Steward Health Care Malta declared soon after the court annulled all of Labour’s Vitals hospital deals because they were a total fraud.

Steward is going ballistic.  Not because Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale condemned the company: “such conditions were also part of Steward’s fraud, making an unjustified enrichment to the detriment of the Maltese government and people”.  Not because the Judge deemed Steward “totally reprehensible”.

Steward is outraged because it’s being deprived of the only thing that matters to them – making millions out of a completely rotten deal for Malta and an unbelievable El Dorado for them. And what really incensed Steward is that the judge ordered them to pay all the costs.

Steward’s comments smacked of the arrogance of Armin Ernst – the man who initially worked for Steward,  then became Vitals’ CEO and later magically transformed into the president of Steward. Ernst, according to Chris Fearne, suggested that Steward should take over from Vitals.

Ernst felt he was immune and that Steward was safe.  He worked closely with Joseph Muscat and Konrad Mizzi. He’d been through the whole saga from the start.  He watched Tumuluri and co disappear unchallenged with millions. He witnessed the filthiest depth to which Muscat and Mizzi stooped to cheat their people and protect Vitals. He knew that when Fearne put his foot down, all he needed do was go straight to Muscat – and he’d get what he wanted.

Repeated waivers, multiple side agreements exonerating them of obligations, more money, more beds purchased, more staff. Mizzi and Muscat repeatedly bypassed cabinet. Agreements were signed with Vitals without cabinet’s knowledge.  Ernst knew Muscat was being paid tens of thousands by Accutor, who received millions from Steward on the day they took over. Ernst knew Muscat had no choice but to protect Steward.

That’s exactly why Ernst took Muscat with him for his first meeting with newly installed Prime Minister Robert Abela.

Ernst put his mind at rest.  Things weren’t going to change simply because Muscat stepped down. Abela was on their side too. For years Abela continued to pump millions of euros into the company. For years he protected Steward. Ernst knew Steward was safe with Labour – if anything they had that €100 million safety cushion.  And Abela wasn’t going to rock the boat. He even derailed the opposition’s parliamentary motion to revoke Steward’s obscene €100 million default payout.

After what he’d seen, Ernst must have believed that nothing would touch him and his Steward. He must have been supremely confident that Labour had control over all of the institutions, including the courts.  He probably still does.

The sentence jolted the hell out of Ernst and Steward. The judge’s comments, they insisted, are “outrageous and without merit”. They called the facts presented in court and meticulously outlined in the ruling “allegations of wrongdoing”.

These are no allegations – these are clearly documented facts based on robust evidence. Steward had every opportunity to demonstrate it had met its contractual obligations.  It could have presented witnesses or documentation. Instead, it produced a one page affidavit and 76 pages of photos showing the renovation of toilets.

Steward’s arrogance is borne by years of its direct observation of Labour’s sheer crookedness. It knows exactly how Labour operates.  It believed Muscat’s rottenness is the rule of law here. Now they’re shocked.  As the judge condemns their machinations as “solely blackmail and unjustified enrichment”, they are now questioning the rule of law in Malta.

Just days earlier Steward threatened an independent media editor that it would be asking government to investigate him, after he reported on the company’s opaque ownership structure. The editor described Steward’s actions as “first-class bullying”.

In fact, it was the natural extrapolation of their own direct experience. They perceive Malta as another Azerbaijan, another Iran where annoying journalists are blown up with the alleged involvement of Muscat’s chief of staff.  They’ve seen Robert Abela harassing The Shift.  Writing to the government to control journalists was part of the deal – another favour Labour owed them.

But Steward miscalculated. Minister Jonathan Attard was compelled to denounce Steward’s actions as “unacceptable” and their request a “non-starter”. In a bizarre twist, Robert Abela wrote to Saviour Balzan informing him that he hadn’t received any letter from Steward.

What happened?  Did the letter get lost in the post? Was the letter never written and Steward was just bluffing? Or is the Prime minister concealing it?

After all, our government hid loads from us – including a secret Memorandum of Understanding with the original group of businessmen who later formed Vitals. They hid the deal’s concession milestones from parliament and the people.

Steward is taken aback because there are still some small pockets of the country’s institutions that occasionally work. They’re shocked that Labour hasn’t completely taken over the institutions yet. They feel betrayed that Robert Abela was compelled to put down on paper that journalists should enjoy “the protection expected from an EU member state”.

What Steward’s now tasting is not Labour’s “rule of law” they’d previously grown to love. They were used to getting whatever they wanted – including an insane €100 million reward, plus all their debts being footed by the State, even if the contract were to be rescinded because of their failures.

So now Steward’s on the attack. Expect things to get nasty. Because their bottom line has been touched. Even Labour is twitchy. Steward and its loyal Ernst know far too much. They have it in their power to cause chaos for Labour’s key figures: Joseph Muscat, Robert Abela and Konrad Mizzi.

They’re baring their teeth.

Steward reserves the right “to safeguard its interests” – as if we needed reminding – “in both local and international courts” it warned. The court judgement, Steward arrogantly declared, “goes far beyond the court’s remit, presents major concerns for the rule of law in Malta and has serious implications for the future of foreign investment in the country”.

That is a message for Labour’s top brass – abandon us, and we will ruin you.