There is something of a naughty, little boy look in MEP Joseph Cuschieri’s face that kind of inclines you to give him a sympathetic ear. Until he opens his mouth, that is, and his Labour DNA comes gushing out in waves and leaves you standing there shuddering in shock.

Cuschieri’s only claim to fame is that he once vacated his seat in Parliament so that Joseph Muscat, then freshly-appointed party leader, could take his place on the Opposition benches. And, yes, he is also head of Labour’s delegation to the European Parliament but we had better not go down that avenue because that post can be intellectually challenging to some.

Last week, Cuschieri threw a tantrum and stamped his feet, a bit like the senior Joseph he sacrificed so much for. He said, to the great relief of many, that he will not be standing for EP elections and accused the party he loves of “manipulation” and of pushing its own favourite candidates.

That Labour may be shuffling off some unsavoury faces may be a good thing, except that, in the end, it will be Labour voters who will choose and their track record is abysmal.

In any case, Cuschieri changed his mind and submitted his nomination, just three days later. The party, he said, came “first and foremost”. We all knew that. Once Malta “came first and foremost” and we got Dom Mintoff.

Apparently, a talk with senior Joseph has put junior Joseph’s mind at rest. Some arrangement has been reached. He won’t tell us what it is but it is easy to guess.

Cuschieri’s getting some airtime on the party media so he can reach out to diehards, who are the only ones who may be daft enough to vote for him.

Curiously, Cuschieri says he has not lost any credibility in making such a move. Many will agree with him on that, at least.

Our equally credible Transport Minister Joe Mizzi also has a little boy look, except that this one is craftier and much sharper.

He hasn’t delivered much so far, other than nationalising the public transport system and driving Arriva away, to no one’s surprise.

He’s been in the news in recent days, for all the wrong reasons.

As our public transport gets shoddier and shoddier – the buses themselves, their drivers and their driving standards – out leaks the news that the government had concluded a €2.4 million deal with a UK company to lease 45 brand new air-conditioned buses for a year.

The deal, a direct order to an unknown supplier, was reached a few hours before an expression of interest issued for the public transport concession was due to close.

The reason appears to be a valid one, as demand is expected to increase in the summer and more buses shall be needed.

Whether this was a crafty last-minute manoeuvre or a rushed decision arising from crass incompetence is as yet unclear. It still doesn’t reflect well on the eternally-upbeat transport minister. The move just brings to mind Scottish bus operator McGill’s decision to scrap its bid to run the bus service here because “the Maltese government’s way is not the way you do negotiations”.

And as we found out that taxpayers will this year be footing an estimated €30 million bill over bus service losses, up jumps Mizzi in Parliament to tell us that, under his watch, the service has improved and there is even less traffic congestion.

Furthermore, costs have been cut down, jobs have been saved and more passengers have been using the service. And, yes, revenue is down and the losses are high, but that’s a detail.

Meanwhile, 80 bendy buses are still clogging up a ditch in Floriana, awaiting export to Sudan. Maybe someone should gently explain to Mizzi there are actually two Sudans and it would be best if he got his act together before they end up in friendly China by mistake.

One other Joe, one who never had a little boy look even in his youth, is Joe (Peppi) Azzopardi, of Xarabank fame.

In the words of that great conservative Margaret Thatcher, some Joes are not for the turning

Azzopardi was in recent days on the receiving end of criticism of all sorts on Daphne Caruana Galizia’s blog. It is the price to pay when you run the most horrible and most popular TV chat show on the island.

Last week, Azzopardi gave evidence in the case filed by former television producer Norman Vella against the Prime Minister before the Employment Commission.

Vella is claiming political discrimination in the way he was redeployed from PBS. Nobody doubts that, he just needs to prove it.

Azzopardi stood by his man at that hearing. He confirmed the most condemnable and revealing words known to have been uttered by the man who is today our Prime Minister: “For every blow we feel you are striking the Labour Party, I will strike you twice, with all my force, under the belt.”

These words put into focus the modus operandi of the Prime Minister and put many of his decisions in their proper light.

The statement reveals a man who was, and still is, obsessed with his own spin, who was and still is obsessed by power, who was and still is obsessed by loyalty at all cost, which he reciprocates with generosity. Those are the words of a bully.

Muscat’s head of communications, Kurt Farrugia, generally confirmed the threat, because that is what it was, and tried to play it down. Farrugia made a shoddy job of it when he said that the provocation came from a live phone call from a viewer asking about Labour’s clubs.

It had taken Muscat by surprise, he said, and Labour was afraid there were similar surprises in store. And there, gentlemen, is what Labour thinks of the press.

It is not yet known what other outbursts of this kind were made by the Prime Minister and to whom. Their purpose is just one, to instil fear. But Azzopardi was not afraid.

Anyone who remembers Azzopardi from when he led the Tan-Numri protest group in the 1980s knows him as a man of strong principles. He has some unorthodox ideas, is rather too leftist and too pacifist for my taste, as I always believed you fought political violence with violence and he did not.

I practically never agreed with anything he said as we discussed, on endless evenings, where Tan-Numri should strike next, while avoiding being struck down in return by those Labour thugs who vote for Muscat today. But anything that Azzopardi said and did was always based on principles and values. In those horror Labour years, human rights were the main issue. He fought hard for them and paid a price.

His move into the TV media obviously brought about changes but only in presentation. The few minutes I bear to watch his chat programme, I always see the old Joe creeping out.

Unfortunately, much of what he says today falls on deaf ears because the structure of his programme has brought about his own undoing. Xarabank has popularised ignorance; it gives the uninformed, biased and sometimes outright stupid opinions a platform. Any sensible talk is snuffed out by default.

Labour had really no reason to be angry with Azzopardi. He has helped them much more than they think.

I still believe Azzopardi to be a man of principle. That is where Labour should be worried, of other Joes like him, a rare breed in today’s amoral world. It can keep all its other little Joe-boys in check but, in the words of that great conservative Magaret Thatcher, some Joes are not for the turning.

Joe Azzopardi showed that last week. He stood by the truth.

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