His antagonism to the European Union is massive.

Notice his stance when there were no translators present during his Maltese speech, a rehearsed reaction to what he knew where that would lead.

Same goes to his feet-stamping regarding the African migration issue. When he sees the EU flag he sees red. But the same flag is acceptable as a backdrop, because it gives an modern image.

[Daphne – Words have meanings, David. English is one of the world’s most precise languages, hence the absolutely vast lexicon. This is something which many people who grew up speaking only Maltese, as Muscat did, find it difficult to understand. Maltese is a language in which one word must serve several generic purposes. They think English is the same. Also, when metaphors are used, they must be apposite. So you would never use ‘halfway house’ to signify something between a direct order and a tender offer, because ‘halfway house’ does not have connotations of something that is neither the one nor the other but somewhere in between. It has connotations of people who cannot be immediately reintegrated into society. Another point: what Chris Cardona did is not ‘halfway’ between a tender and a direct order, but something completely different: ministerial interference.]

[Daphne – No, it isn’t. In British English, halfway house has connotations of madness and of reintegration into society. That’s why native speakers never use the term unless they wish to be insulting or disparaging. It does not mean a halfway staging post. And even if he meant the latter, the metaphor is wrong. What Chris Cardona did is not ‘halfway’ between a tender and a direct order, but a different animal altogether: ministerial interference.]

In this case it is more likely a place where they stay for a while before being consigned to some institution.

But imagine how clever they think him to be!