“I tried to protect the institution, and then the institution was completely indifferent to the consideration for delivering justice.  And don’t tell me this type of case should take eight months. No, it shouldn’t take eight months.  She has all those experts.  No, even if you have a lot of work, it shouldn’t take eight months. And there isn’t that much work pressure.  And even if there were, I would put that other work aside” – This was Robert Abela pinning the blame for his fatal blunders on the inquiring magistrate.

The man who constantly brags that he believes in the institutions, who keeps harking that the institutions are working, is now engaged in open war against the inquiring magistrate. He’s now openly attacking those institutions, publicly proclaiming they’ve failed.

Abela keeps making an utter fool of himself.  His unbelievable arrogance and stubbornness led him down an alley.  Everybody warned him.  But Abela doesn’t listen to anybody.  He brags that he’s not afraid of taking decisions – except they’re always the wrong ones.

He panicked when it finally dawned on him that everybody was condemning his idiocy, including his allies. He tried to find a way out to save face.  The path he chose was a shameless frontal attack on the inquiring magistrate.

“If I were the inquiring magistrate, I wouldn’t sleep, day or night, until I conclude that report.  If I were burdened with that responsiblity, I would drop everything when I knew that there is a whole country thirsting for justice, and I would conclude the report.  This is not acceptable,” the prime minister shouted during a press conference.

“The magistrate had all the resources she needed, resources without limit.  If she wanted 10 experts, she would have got 10 experts.  It’s just a question of how the magistrate conducts her procedures,” he added, casting doubt on the magistrate’s competence and work ethic.

“The appeal we clearly made through the motion we voted on was ignored – the parliamentary motion was ignored because another extension has been requested,” he persisted. “The magisterial inquiry is dragging its feet, almost eight months and no end in site. The government will no longer remain a hostage of the court”.

“Now it’s mid-July, and she’s asked for another extension,” Abela protested, “I am no longer comfortable waiting any longer”.

“Eight months, and we still have no clue when the authorities will have the report to start taking action.  This is why this continuous emphasis so that the inquiring magistrate fulfils her role without further delay,” he charged.

Less than six weeks ago, when facing media queries about the pending magisterial inquiry into the hospitals’ corruption case and Joseph Muscat’s alleged involvement, Abela insisted “The institutions must be left to work, and it will not be me to impose, prejudice or pressure decisions which need to be taken by these same institutions”.

Now he’s ripping into a magistrate with the viciousness of a cornered rat. Abela even had the gall to proclaim that “I have always been consistent”.

He is as consistent as melting ice cream in a record-breaking heatwave.

As recently as April, when Robert Aquilina published a damning book exposing the AG’s efforts to pervert justice, Abela issued a terse statement: “The authorities work in complete independence and autonomy”.

The ‘consistent’ Robert Abela, who for years tried to dupe the public that the institutions are working, even as they protected his former Labour colleagues, has changed his mind. The ‘consistent’ Abela, who believed in the institutions, has gone on the rampage, shouting abuse at the magistrate and threatening the judiciary: “The government will not be held hostage by the courts”.

Abela now expects magisterial inquiries to be concluded within 60 days.  He never insisted on this with magisterial inquiries investigating Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Edward Scicluna, and Konrad Mizzi.

He never insisted on deadlines when others were killed or seriously injured at work. He was happy leaving the institutions to work – sometimes for years – while his friends enjoyed impunity. He wasn’t bothered that “justice delayed is justice denied”.

Abela’s recent meltdown exposes one thing.  The man is a bully who will attack anybody to save his skin. In a frenzy of panic, Abela needed a scapegoat to blame for his dire incompetence and appalling judgement. He needs a hate figure for his ONE TV mob.  And he’s picked the inquiring magistrate.

Abela knows the magistrate is precluded from making public comments or issuing personal statements.  He understands perfectly well that our current legislation prevents her from issuing information about proceedings or the reasons for the delay.

For all we know, his government entities, like INDIS Malta, are obstructing the inquiry.  After all, we’ve seen the disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat and his sidekick Konrad Mizzi actively obstructing investigations by the National Audit Office, withholding information, refusing to meet the officials and hiding key documents. We’ve seen OPM officials stonewalling.

Yet Abela insisted in his press conference that the magistrate should make statements about the inquiry to update the public.

Abela has shown once more that he is ready to throw anybody under the bus. He is ready to wreck the country’s democracy.  He has no qualms about publicly destroying the magistrate to try and save face.

He is a desperate bully, intimidating, threatening and disparaging a public official in no position to defend herself. Only Robert Abela matters to Robert Abela.