It started off as a politically-themed current affairs programme on One TV but Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday took theatre veteran Kevin Drake’s cue and swapped the policy talk for musings of a more philosophical bent.

“Righteousness does not always pick the same side,” Dr Muscat told a Siġġiewi audience, as he reached into contemporary Maltese history to back his thesis.

“Labour didn’t win a single election in the 1960s despite being undoubtedly in the right. And the Nationalist Party was on the right side of history in the 1980s and we’ve come to acknowledge that. It was time for a change then and it’s time for a change now,” he said.

His words were overshadowed by those of Mr Drake, who spoke movingly – and at length – about his philosophy of life.

“You’re either growing towards life or disintegrating towards death: things are either positive or negative. I want to see a better tomorrow and we must remember that which unites us is far greater than that which sets us apart.”

Mr Drake, who lives with chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME, turned to Dr Muscat: “I am here on behalf of those who have come to the end and whose hope has run out. We need more hope.”

At the end of his soliloquy, Mr Drake stood up, faced the camera and began to recite the national anthem. When he reached the verse “foster unity and peace among the Maltese” the audience stood up.

Banker John Consiglio looked to Socrates for his inspiration. “Wise indeed is he who changes his mind,” he said, criticising the political class for its insistence on tribal politicking and point-scoring.

Geologist Peter Gatt expressed his disappointment that Malta had not done much to exploit its disproportionately large continental shelf, which is 200 times the size of the Maltese islands.

University lecturer – and the wife of recalcitrant outgoing Nationalist MP Jesmond Mugliett – Karen Mugliett said she was disappointed by what she called the PN focus on “undermining the PL and Joseph Muscat’s credibility”.