Joseph Muscat is scrambling to make people forget his rather peculiar penchant for appointing people who annoyed (or worse) the PN Government to positions of trust and responsibility in his own Government.

It's not as if every single one of his appointees is a paragon of virtue and the owner of a brilliant mind, after all.

Indeed, many of them seem to be possessed of a single virtue: when the Nationalists were in Government, the Nationalists were embarrassed by them, or they were an embarrassment to themselves or they were downright oafs who appeared on Super One TV at the drop of a hat to spout inanities and venom in the general direction of Lawrence Gonzi.

Without characterising anyone within any of the above categories, I'd invite you to give consideration to the appointments of Dalli J, Debono F, and Pullicino Orlando J as examples of that about which I'm making my point. I'm not saying which of them was what and, Heaven forfend, nor am I even to be taken as hinting that I am daring to let the thought form in the ante-room of what is laughingly called my brain that any of the gentlemen mentioned isn't the proud owner of the finest of fine minds and the possessor of an integrity that is resplendent in its glory.

But you take my point, I'm sure.

Muscat, along with trying to make us forget that he has appointed this bunch and many others to positions of trust that should make anyone with even the slightest sense of irony emit a hollow laugh, is also concerned with trying to divert our attention from the gaffe upon gaffe upon gaffe his Cabinet, with him at its head, are making on almost a daily basis.

Or, on the other hand, from the fact that some of his Ministers are nowhere to be seen or heard, which truth be told is infinitely better.

In order to carry out this piece of prestidigitation, Muscat has come up with quite a humdinger: he's told the leader of the PN that he has to take responsibility for Austin Gatt's failure to take responsibility for the goings-on at Enemalta.

Just in case Muscat hasn't quite worked out this political accountability thing, here's a quick tutorial. Everyone, from the highest panjandrum to the lowliest serf, is liable to be held responsible for his actions. There are various types of responsibility, and the one to which Muscat appears to be referring, though he's on a par with his Ministers here in failing to be anything but populist much of the time, is political responsibility.

This type of responsibility, read my lips Dr Muscat, is taken by - wait for it - politicians.

If the individuals concerned are no longer politiciains (as Austin Gatt is no longer) then they can't take political responsibility for anything and, duh, no-one can take it for them, given that the taking of responsibility on a collective basis is done at what they call "elections", a concept with which Muscat must be familiar, being as he's just won one and resoundingly well, at that.

So could we have less of this smug playing to the gallery and more proper governance, if you would be so kind, young sir? Sound-bites and slogans are all very well but they have a limited use, namely for electioneering.

This is the real thing now.

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