As I claimed in my last letter on this subject (April 9), the Jason Azzopardi defamation case has continued to expose Opposition leader Simon Busuttil as not fit for purpose or to be ever considered as an alternative prime minister.

When the PN had announced that Azzopardi was going to be arraigned in court on a “ criminal libel” case instituted by a former police commissioner, Busuttil had said that a similar case had only happened decades ago, adding that Azzopardi could end up in jail, while also accusing the PL government as being behind this case and was thus “a threat to democracy”. Ironically, he forgot that he had instituted a similar case against then Labour Party president Manwel Cuschieri in 2000.

When the hearing of this case started, on April 6, the presiding magistrate immediately clarified that this was not a criminal libel case but a defamation case, similar to another 10 cases which he would be hearing on that very same day. Quite different to the “decades ago” mentioned by Busuttil.

And yet, for this very usual and quite normal case, Busuttil and the PN’s strategy group had decided to urge PN lawyers to attend the hearing in support of Azzopardi. Meanwhile, supporters of Azzopardi from Paola were brought over in coaches to Valletta to also lend their support to their MP.

The scenes we saw happening when One TV journalists were manhandled and insulted by the baying crowd of PN supporters, were scenes the vast majority of the Maltese people must have thought we would never see again in our country. Is this the kind of “honest politics” Busuttil talks about?