The situation in Libya - a former Italian colony and an area where the Italians still like to pretend they have some influence - has led to an exodus of refugees, both of the classic variety and a newer version, Libyans getting the heck out of Dodge.

The EU has a mechanism that can be brought into play that will demonstrate Europe-wide solidarity for countries that are affected by an influx of refugees, when this reaches crisis point. So far, the Eurocrat-in-charge, who does not live at the cutting edge but in Brussels, where the tranquility of every day life tends to be scarcely disturbed, has determined that no crisis exists.

This has led our Northern cousins to flounce about and leave meetings in a huff, meanwhile pointing the finger at Malta not playing its part, threatening to cut us off from the bounty of being so close to them. Of course, when the Italians fail to rescue a boat-load of refugees in clear and present danger that was fourteen miles from Lampedusa, it is portrayed as Malta not playing its part, which is a position that defies logic, not to mention geography. True, Lampedusa is smaller than Malta but then, Italy is just a little larger, so the impact on the country as a whole is hardly comparable to what can happen to us.

I can fully understand the Italians' frustration at their own Northern cousins: we know exactly how they feel, but to weep fulsomely about the Europeans not showing solidarity while failing to show an iota of solidarity with us is hypocrisy at its most abject.

When you think about it, though, Italy's history and political system gave the world the boon of Fascism and its inherent racist xenophobia, so why should we be surprised that its Lega Nord power brokers treat us like Libya or, for that matter, Sicily?

This is not to say that we don't have our own racists and xenophobes and our own political opportunists and cheap chancers, but more about them anon: today it's about the Italians and their bullying tactics.