Apart from a feeling of contempt engendered by the spectacle of a grown politician snivelling under the cosh of everyday political cut and thrust, the performance of the Prime Minister over the recent, inconclusive Egrant findings raises more doubt than certainty.

First, as the Bard might well have remarked, “Methinks he doth protest too much”.

Second, and while I’m no more than an observer of such facts as a diligent press has been able to pry out the perpetrators, these latest revelations do not answer the crucial question: who was the founder/owner/beneficiary of Egrant? Forged signatures do not advance the cause of transparency and the presentation of evidence by a principal in the overall controversy only encourages further disbelief.

The knee-jerk reaction of the so-called leader of the Opposition, in response to the declaiming of his political opponent, reveals not simple naivete but the lack of experience of an inept political operator. Abraham Lincoln might have cautioned the PN: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

The unflinching dedication of Simon Busuttil to a political process free of the canker of corruption - during the past four years and throughout the 2017 general election - casts him in the role of Aristides, whom Herodotus labelled “the best and most honourable man in Athens”. He left politics as poor as when he began his career and the people had a whip-round to provide his daughter with a marriage dowry. Unfortunately, there have been few Aristides in any country since the 5th Century BC but the sooner Busuttil returns to a position of influence in national politics, the better for everyone here in Malta, of whatever political stripe.