LEADERSHIP CRISIS: Prime Minister relaxes in Rome today while Minister and chief of staff battle the media

This photograph was taken in Rome today, and shows the Prime Minister in deck shoes and casual gear with an admirer. Muscat is in Rome for a long weekend with Mrs Muscat, his aide and state-funded blogger Glenn Bedingfield, and their three children.

He has taken off as his special minister and chief of staff do battle with the media and the Opposition in a slew of corruption stories. We have known for a while now that the country has a massive leadership crisis, but this complete indifference to public opinion and failure to understand just how great the damage is, which means the Prime Minister feels no need to even pretend to be concerned, is a matter of grave concern.