Flip-flopper in chief

Headlines on 1 June stated that “Prime Minister says Manoel island concession will not be withdrawn… removing the Manoel Island concession would be a populist move”.  Another headline read, “We can’t scrap Manoel Island deal”.

Two days later, the tone changed. “Government analysing Manoel Island contract for breaches. I am not excluding anything – Robert Abela”.

So, on 1 June, Abela was all over the news categorically declaring that “the government will not be cancelling the Manoel Island concession”.  Just 48 hours later, he announced that he was “not excluding anything”.

“There is no final decision about the matter yet; we need to see what emerges from the analysis of the concession and act accordingly.”  If Abela hadn’t even analysed the concession by 3 June, why was he insisting that he wouldn’t scrap the concession?

What happened in those 48 hours? Well, Abela’s authority was challenged.  Alfred Sant called him out, telling him publicly that his stand on Manoel Island was “less than convincing”.

Sant accused Abela of letting the “private entrepreneurs who’ve made a hash of Tigne” develop Manoel Island as they wished. He openly condemned “the government” for letting those “entrepreneurs” breach the original agreement while it “looked away”.

Edward Zammit Lewis tightened the screw on Abela.  He called him out for defending the bondholders. He accused Abela of creating “an ugly precedent” by choosing to guarantee the bonds of private investors in private companies.

He attacked those “entrepreneurs” of “speaking to the media as if the public land belongs to them”.  He openly challenged Abela’s rigid position that he would not “scrap” the concession, instead calling openly for “the land to be returned to government”. That’s open defiance by Abela’s MP.

Even Labour Party President Alex Sciberras spoke of the Leader’s discordant message that he would not scrap the concession.

Abela first wanted to bury any suggestion that Manoel Island could be returned to the nation. He entrenched his position by stating that “If the government had to withdraw the concession agreement, it would only be a momentary populist act.”

The prime minister claimed that he had received a separate petition from the 5,000 people who had invested in the MIDI plc project, “who were worried they would lose it”.

“Those 5,000 people are concerned, and it is my job to hear everyone out and ensure the project is the best for all,” he added.

“The government cannot rescind the Manoel Island concession,” he told the nation on Sunday.  “We can’t just throw away the concession – it would create more problems than offer solutions,” he insisted on the Labour Party’s radio. “It would be dishonest of me to pledge to scrap the contract”.

He went on to promote the project.  He did a brilliant job of public relations officer for the company, saying, “This isn’t going to be a project for developers to earn a quick buck but a top-quality development that can attract quality tourists and strike a balance…it must be a template for how we want development in the coming years.”

Just 48 hours later, it was no longer dishonest to consider scrapping that contract. It’s clear Abela hadn’t even analysed that concession agreement before spewing his vociferous defence of the project.

Abela didn’t even know whether MIDI plc had kept to its part of the deal before insisting the concession wouldn’t be scrapped.  Abela had only one intention – to protect the interests of Gasan and the rest of the shareholders.

Just hours later, he’s suddenly realised that maybe that concession agreement should be looked into.  He’s been Prime Minister for five long years, and he hasn’t even bothered until now.  He’s now informed the nation that he has “asked for an analysis from a legal perspective… to see if there are any breaches of the concession”.

He’s even hinted, horror of horrors, that he may take legal action against MIDI.  In what must rank as his most impressive U-turn, he’s now “not excluding any way forward”.

After his verbal diarrhoea on Sunday, now he’s decided to see “What emerges from the analysis of the concession and act accordingly”. Why on earth was he shooting off then?

There is a seething anger rising in the population.  People watch helplessly as Abela steadfastly defends those bond holders and those wealthy shareholders while the interests of the nation and the will of those 29,000 citizens and counting are trampled on.

Doesn’t Abela have a direct conflict of interest? According to his last declaration of assets, he owns shares in HSBC, which also has a stake in MIDI plc. Does Abela stand to gain from the project?