Arnold Cassola: The Developer Who Preaches to Everyone but Himself

In the last 24 hours, Momentum Party Chairperson Arnold Cassola rushed to social media to thunder against developers in the wake of Wednesday’s building collapse in Paceville, St Julian’s.

“Developers who play about with people’s lives and lie to cover up must be banned from continuing to risk our lives,” declared Cassola, before launching an attack on the Prime Minister — as if he alone holds the moral high ground in this country.

But hold on a minute, Professor. Before you dish out sermons, how about you answer a few burning questions you keep dodging every time they’re raised?

Prof. Cassola, have you ever dipped your toes into the property market yourself — buying, selling, investing, just like the very developers you now pretend to despise?

If yes, doesn’t that make you a developer too? And by your own logic, a hypocrite?

If transparency really is your gospel, then practice what you preach: declare how much property you own, have owned, and have flipped for profit over the years. Surely, you, of all people, wouldn’t have any trouble being honest about that. Or would you, Professor?

The Swieqi Manhole Fiasco: The Hypocrisy in Action

Lest we forget, the hypocrisy isn’t just theoretical. It’s painfully real. In July last year, a 15-year-old girl narrowly escaped a serious accident when she fell into a manhole carelessly concealed by a flimsy piece of wood right outside an apartment block on Swieqi Road, Swieqi.

Where does Cassola come into this? He owns an apartment in that very block.

Cassola claimed he took “immediate action” alongside another owner to fix what was clearly a death trap waiting to happen. Immediate, really? How immediate is “immediate” when a gaping manhole is left disguised by rotten plywood for months until a teenager almost disappears into it?

Thanks only to sheer luck and her mother’s quick reflexes, the girl avoided grave injury, managing to hold herself half-submerged in a filthy, dangerous pit.

Here’s a question for the self-appointed guardian of accountability:

Did you, Mr. Cassola, personally request Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà to investigate this avoidable hazard that endangered a young life? Or does your thirst for accountability stop where your own liability might begin?

Arnold Cassola

The Real Question

While Arnold Cassola grandstands on Facebook and scolds the nation about reckless developers, he keeps an awfully tight lid on his own stake in the property game and his own lapses in responsibility.

So the question the public must now ask is simple:

How much longer will Arnold Cassola’s holier-than-thou persona shield him from answering for his own hypocrisy?

We’re not holding our breath for straight answers — but this portal won’t stop asking the uncomfortable questions he wants to bury under cheap slogans.

Keep reading. We’ll keep digging.