Another day, another 1,001 boring old constituents – but Mrs ED ZL is fascinated

The Tourism Minister, who likes to be known as ED ZL, is not that great at pretending to be transfixed by his constituents’ conversation. Though he’s the one they’ll be voting for, he leaves the I’m-so-fascinated-by-the-details-of-your-matchbox collection work to Mrs ED ZL, who does an amazing impersonation of the Duchess of Cornwall, complete with hair, handbag, bored husband and wide-eyed feigned interest.

Though the former Elena Farrugia (family nickname: Ta’ Bagollu) would much rather be hanging around the homes of her new-power-station friends and feeling fabulous, than speaking to villagers in their bars, she knows that unless she spends a hell of a lot of time and effort soft-soaping her husband’s constituents and trotting out an endless supply of red frocks, she’s only got a year left as il-mara tal-Ministru. And if she’s not the Minister’s wife, what will her value be to her power-station-friends and other assorted access-to-power-and-tenders hangers-on?

The Duchess of Cornwall doesn’t have to get her husband elected every five years.