So the real king in all but name is Mallia and Muscat is just a pawn . Even those who voted for Muscat have been betrayed . We’re living in a game of chess . God help us .

Why was Manuel Mallia even allowed to set foot inside PN headquarters prior to him going over to Labour? That’s the sort of political class we have – bipartisan corruption. It’s all a bloody game to them. Labour or Nationalist, they’re all in it for the money.

But this particular road leads to chaos. In reality, the people who are actually behind the oil scandal, referred to by superone as the scandal of the century, are MLP guys, including Cisju Mifsud, the brother of the other MLP financial guru, who insisted on his cut of the dirty dealings.

There was a sermon on ONE just the other day, with the preacher trying to discredit George Farrugia following the latter’s revelations on Minister Mallia’s dirty dealings during his relationship with the Farrugia family.

Now the scandal is no longer the scandal of the century, but it has been downgraded to a very low level ONE.

I remember him, sitting at the main table on a typical Sunday morning activity at the PN Office in San Gwann (early-mid-80’s or so) and flanked, on either side, by Dr Censu Tabone, Dr George Bonello Dupuis, Dr Francis Zammit Dimech, Dr Joe Borg.

I would agree, were it not that Maltese jurisprudence seeks self-preservation rather than justice. Maltese lawyers, judges and magistrates may love the Law, but they do not love Justice.

Criminal lawyers are the worst of a bad lot. Their work brings them in contact with the dregs of society from the lowest to the highest rungs. In order to sell themselves, they must – like any salesman – put themselves on the client’s side. And I mean literally. Anyone who thinks it’s just a clinical taking of position in defence of an accused rights is deluded. They become friends with their criminal clients.

Now I am not privy to the contents of Guido Demarco’s rolodex, or his filing cabinet. But I see in him an example of monumental delusion. He seemed to think that membership of the legal profession is an agent of positive change. That somehow, promoting someone to judge or magistrate, or calling them to the bar, would turn rotten specimens into decent human beings.

How wrong he was.

In this way, he mentored sorry examples like Anglu Farrugia or Manuel Mallia. And foisted them upon us for the ages.

That is the Nationalist Party’s bequest to Malta. And that is the reason people like me hold their noses and try to swallow back the rising bile each time an election comes round and we have to vote for the PN, because the alternative is too terrible to contemplate.

Simon Busuttil may be a decent person, and smart and untainted too. But he cannot undo generations of rot. It is more than any man is capable of.

Come 2018, I will be voting for the PN, yet again, knowing that the screwing will go on, perhaps with a couple of drops of WD40 to ease the pain. But it will go on. The canker in our midst will be as malignant as ever.

I once asked a journalist point blank whether he understood the implications of increasing volume capacity of gas storage threefold at Marsaxlokk. This was soon after the design intent was issued, he wasn’t even aware.

There’s this readership war rendering those two illustrious newspapers self-referential.

From what I can remember, I think Mallia had said that the PN never approached him and so that means that he was approached by the PL to contest its ticket.

The story here is that all corruption centered around the Labour Party.

When Austin Gatt called his impromptu press conference, Saviour Balzan entered Pieta’ literally panting and spent the next hour spluttering twists and turns to his source, nature of documents and devotion to Austin Gatt.

It was a sight.

If anyone thinks our prime minister is one who’ll take centre stage with decisions, they’re mistaken, because a follower he’ll remain. Muscat will never put himself in the position he instinctively attacks.