Some of my colleague commentators, in their opinion columns, like to tell us of their culinary habits, which are normally of a high standard, where they’ve been, what they ate/drank and whether they were satisfied. I feel I must mention a get- together of some good friends of 40-year vintage (good friends, of course, till today).

We met at one of them at Dwejra. No special cuisine, French (which I don’t like anyway – with those ridiculous large plates and then a couple of morsels in the middle) or otherwise but what better than a full plate of typically Maltese imqarrun il-forn (baked macaroni) followed by an exquisite sorts of cake with ice cream (and plenty of wine, of course).

So one does not need to go to a restaurant to have a laudable meal. Sitting in a field is just as well and, what with a couple of marauding rats as company, this seals the day.

Praise to my good hosts and the many friends of long for their fare and good company. I will not mention names but they will all recognise the direction of this message.

But now praise at a higher level. I have been (together with a number of others) harshly critical of the parking situation in the capital and particularly regarding the positive discrimination afforded to members of Parliament, many of whom are lawyers no higher than myself. The government, or members therein, have now come off their high horse and designated an area behind the Palace and opposite the Valletta market for some 70 MPs to park, giving us, Joe Public, the opportunity to find a place to park ourselves and to save the various businesses from extinction.

Very well done indeed. But two questions: Will our honourable gentlemen become ordinary citizens (I don’t think they pay any more taxes than we do) during the course of the day when Parliament is not sitting and not benefit from reserved parking anywhere? What will happen during morning sittings when the area in front of the market is occupied by the monti open-air market? Will the honourable gentlemen go back to taking up our parking spaces?

Joseph Muscat, whom, I must admit, I have found far more receptive to my occasional company (last time on an Emirates aircraft when he was very tiredly making his way back from Australia) than his bland predecessors, has called out for volunteers to offer their time and skills to the Labour Party. Although I think this is a smart ploy in terms of PR, it is also a gimmick.

Any party or its leader can recruit volunteers through the ranks, with the use of its sectional committees, as has always been done. Does Dr Muscat genuinely think his call for “time and skills” is going to have people queuing outside the Mile End red glasshouse? I, for one, will not be there. There is no incentive to move towards a party which has effectively proposed nothing, which is feasible at least. How will the living wage, which is basically smoke (duħħan in Maltese), be calculated? And this is just an example. If it wants to be credible, the PL needs to get down to basics, to get on with the traditional way of doing politics and stop coming up with all these fads.

It’s great news to hear of the introduction of the Whistleblower Act. And it’s also great to hear about the proposed beefing up of the Permanent Commission Against Corruption. I must admit that I follow the line being towed by Dr Muscat in the sense that the commission has never, never found one case of corruption in its long history. I do not doubt the integrity of the succession of chairmen and members who formed part of it but, somehow, this record sounds wrong.

With the chairman of the commission now being chosen by a two-thirds majority in Parliament it will become more credible. The opinion expressed by the Leader of the Opposition that the commission will not be independent because the two ordinary members will be chosen by the Prime Minister does not hold water as long as these members are persons of respect and integrity (as they always have been). If not, any salient facts should be exposed.

As for the Whistleblower Act, this is long overdue but it has not been an easy piece of legislation to get together. As the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, one must guard against false reports (and I add, as a rider, especially in a small country like ours with an unfortunate vindictive mentality). But it is a potent instrument against corruption and a well timed reply to the opposition’s claims of corruption, particularly vis-à-vis the extension of the Delimara power station, which may well be. Perhaps we will have a whistleblower in that area when the law is finally enacted.