Oh, please – for his sake as well as ours, just put him out to grass

Karmenu Vella, June 2013

Here’s the young, progressive and liberal Tourism Minister, Karmenu Vella (centre), at a press conference about the Isle of MTV concert.

This is an emperor’s clothes, elephant-in-the-room moment, and of course it’s got to be me to get all the flak by stating the ruddy obvious, but the man is obviously suffering from some kind of accelerated geriatric deterioration because he’s only just celebrated his 63rd party (only 63, eh) and yet he looks more shrunken than my grandmother did at 97.

It’s not just the physical aspect, either. His speech pattern has become ever more meandering, he loses track of what he meant to say, he forgets what it is he means, and on television in the electoral campaign, he couldn’t even make head or tail of the prompt sheets he was given and pushed them across the table at his interviewer, saying ‘Here, read them yourself.’

Karmenu Vella’s got another five years in the saddle, but long before those five years are up, they’re going to be having to tie him to the horse so he doesn’t slip off.

Leaving him in that saddle is completely irresponsible because he’s got an important job to do and it’s obvious from his public appearances that he is going to be less and less able to do it.

And quite frankly, he shouldn’t even be there in the first place. The way these people hang on and just won’t let go or clear the way for those who actually are fit for purpose is just unbelievable.

I mean, for heaven’s sake – just look how long the man has been around.

Karmenu Vella (centre) in China with two Great Leaders, 41 years ago in 1972.