The Commonwealth is an organisation that has acquired a reputation for moving more at the speed of a plodding tortoise than a hurried hare. Yet in the space of just three days, its 53 active members suspended Pakistan and elected a new Secretary General. By any standard, that is fast.
Foreign Minister Michael Frendo had a hand in both, so to speak. As chairman of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), he earned praise from leaders and colleagues for being a man of action particularly when it came to the Pakistan issue. Yet although he was clearly the more experienced of the candidates for the post of Secretary General, the majority of leaders opted for the Indian, Kamalesh Sharma, instead.
It is not clear how close the vote was, but in this situation it does not really matter. What did seem to matter - this election was described in some quarters as a contest between a country and a candidate - was size. And that is unfortunate.
This is not to say we do not send our good wishes to Mr Sharma. Of course we do. But we think that given Malta's Commonwealth pedigree and the quality of the candidate it put forward, it deserved more than a wooden spoon.
Just on Friday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told fellow leaders - who have gathered in Uganda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which draws to a close today - that Malta was prepared to set up and fund a Commonwealth unit dedicated to fighting poverty through the use of technology. IT, and enhancing the knowledge society, has been a resonant feature of Malta's relationship with the other nations for some 20 years now.
In heading the Commonwealth, a Maltese candidate would have also benefitted from the island's neutrality, which is an underrated asset given the ever-complex global situation we face today.
Few will argue against CMAG's decision to suspend Pakistan - since it flouted a 10-day deadline to lift emergency rule - but even fewer will fail to see the sense in doing everything possible to bring such a pivotal country back; both for the benefit of its nationals and because it plays such an important role in maintaining some semblance of stability in the world. Dr Frendo at the helm would have made this process easier.
Conspicuous by his absence at CHOGM yesterday was Australia's Prime Minister John Howard, who was defeated at the polls after 11 years at the helm.
Although Mr Howard brought the country forward in a number of respects - the economy is booming in a manner it has never done before - his support of the war in Iraq, his age (he is 68) and a lack of commitment to the environment persuaded the large majority of Australians - voting in Australia is compulsory - to give the younger Opposition leader a chance.
Mr Howard's 50-year-old successor, Kevin Rudd, who Dr Gonzi met during his visit to Australia last August, has pledged to be a prime minister for all Australians.
Of course, Malta has a significant and numerous community there. Which hopefully means that it can at least be pleased about one of yesterday's election results.