Barely 24 months in office, the ‘much trumpeted’ Labour Movement government of Joseph Muscat appears to be already mired in sleaze.
It has been reportedly accused of cronyism, nepotism, bullying, downright twisting of facts, sheer misinformation, lies and cover-ups. And all this under the direction of someone who promised a clean government based on meritocracy, transparency and accountability; lofty ideals that were thrown overboard upon him taking the very first steps up to Castille.
A number of ministers have not done credit to their ministerial roles and have failed the test. The classic example is the gaffe-prone Manuel Mallia, but he has been given ‘the order of the boot’, much to the relief of the public.
He may, however, claim unfair dismissal, as a few of his colleagues are still lingering on, enjoying the fruits of power. Pride of place goes to Konrad Mizzi (fumbling and dodging the energy issue), Chris Cardona (questions raised about a tendering process), Joe Mizzi (the transport chaos tsar), Leo Brincat (the environment Pontius Pilate), Helena Dalli (the law is an ass) and Evarist Bartolo (educator of virginity).
No wonder it is being rumoured that an important announcement will soon be made in respect of the release of a new Maltese-language cartoon entitled ‘Jo-zeff u s-seba nani’.
That would place us firmly in the number one spot of banana republics.