A midsummer’s nightmare – Wayne Flask
Two summers ago, with the country lurching in the uncertainty of a pandemic, Prime Minister Robert Abela returned to his holidays in Sicily in the midst of a spike in COVID-19 cases." Two years later, validated by a resounding electoral victory, Abela’s again nowhere to be seen. There have been tweets, recorded messages and a photo op with Russell Crowe; otherwise, he’s been more preoccupied with the seas around Capri than the backwaters of Castille. The prime minister’s holidaying must have galvanised his predecessor, who has found time to keep himself busy in between hosting pre-announced police visits to his house in Burmarrad and boat trips where Italian law enforcement shows up, this time announced, to cuff a companion. A fortnight ago, sensing southerly winds and the ensuing lull, Joseph Muscat sprang to the defence of Fredrick Azzopardi, the brutish ex-generalissimo of Infrastructure Malta and husband to a cousin of his. Muscat spoke of “consequences” and “responsibilities” as he claimed to “defend citizens from the authorities”, who are now suddenly crumbling to “pressure” from “the usual suspects”. Muscatonomics, beside the exploitation of workers and complete...