Let's not beat around the bush: for making his inane comments about actively discriminating against Labourites, whether he actually does it or not, PN Candidate for Sliema Local Council Julian Galea should resign his candidature or have it withdrawn by the PN.   His "requesting an apology" (presumably this means he apologised, but The Independent on Sunday, where I read it, is as prone to butchering the language as anyone else, it seems) just doesn't cut it and it's not as if the Sliema Local Council is overburdened with shining examples of probity and quality.

That said, Labour's manner of fighting the local council elections bodes little well for the way they will be conducting themselves in the one that matters.  Ignoring the elephant in the room which is Muscat's inept handling of the Labour-led Mosta Council, they have turned their guns on St Paul's Bay, pointing an accusing finger at the Mayor for what they call a conflict of interest.  It is clear that no such conflict existed because the Mayor acted entirely appropriately, but this is insufficient for Labour and its machine to refrain from attacking her.

And that's leaving aside the inconsistency in Labour's mode of action, where in Mosta total incompetence is condoned and in Sliema a couple of less than pristine characters were taken into Labour's bosom, with one becoming some sort of hero of the movement and the other one of its leading lights.

Political sniping is all very well, it's part of the dynamism of the adversarial system we use, but downright lies about people are just not on and people who resort to them should be considered as being below contempt.   

To end on a different plane, according to Dr Franco Debono, quoted in the Independent, only elected officials should involve themselves in running things.  I trust Dr Debono will allow me to scoff, politely.  Since when is being able to persuade people to vote for you the only measure of competence?  In many circumstances, in fact, being dependent on the whims of we, the people, tends to be less than positive.