Tal-biki din il-mara.

Two out of Twenty… two for panache.

Anthony, I agree with most of your comments. The AG in colonial times was known as the Crown Attorney General and his colleagues were called Crown Counsels. Te late President emeritus Guido de Marco was a Crown Counsel up to the elections of 1966.

The part I don’t agree with is when you stated that the AG should clarify his position. And then what? Start a debate, like it or not, between reds and blues with him caught right in the middle?

The Attorney General is not the government’s lawyer and he is not subject to the Commissioner of Police.

In this particular case he may have agreed to stay the case temporarily and wait for the outcome of the new investigation by OLAF.

I am of the opinion (and I am not an authority on such matters) that this delay, if that is what it is, does not reflect positively on the AG. However, one has to keep in mind that traditionally no AG has ever come out to subject himself to the Press or public opinion. He is and should be above all that.

I ask the Commissioner of Police “Was the same yardstick used when the Police arraigned Darryl Luke Borg a few weeks ago?”

You are not paranoid. All of that has happened. Add to your list the accompanying, ongoing effort to neutralise opposition and undermine the Opposition.

Naqbel miegħek perfettament. Għandna għax nitħassbu bis-serjeta. Tal-biki jekk mhux tat-twerwir!

1) Broad ministerial discretion in police and military forces – replacement of Commissioner of Police, re-assignment of staff to Secret Service and promises of promotion in return for their silence, rapid promotion of officers from major to colonels within a few weeks irrespective of their lack of training and effective promotion upstairs of existing brigadier.

2) Pre-election talk by PM about the end of party politics and the birth of a new movement.

3) Promotion of party lackeys within the various ministries.

4) Placement of party lackeys in various ambassadorial posts.

5) Threats of push-back that would have been in breach human rights in the case of minority immigrants.

6) Censorship and deletion of files pertaining to supposed free media (can state media ever be free?), refusal of CoP to concede interviews, polarisation of state media through the promotion of party supporters at PBS and censorship (removal) of certain discussion programmes.

7) Proximity and growing ties with autocratic and despotic regimes.

8) Creation of data ‘super agency’ dangerously pooling personal information without consulting the data protection commissioner (his head will eventually roll).

9) An attorney general who, through the court testimony of the former COP, appears to be “undecided” if not unprincipled.

10) Perks and jobs for ministerial spouses and relatives.

I would not be half bothered by one or two situations of abuse. This has happened before and it will happen again.

However, unless I am being paranoid, all the above situations taking place in a 6-month period are of serious concern.

It is not amiss in this context to recall some prominent personalties who have occupied this prestigious office in the past as Sir Adriano Dingli and Sir Anthony Mamo.