Sales is an art. To perform well you need to be trustworthy, assertive and optimistic. If you are not successful, one of these three key elements must be missing.

Take Joseph Muscat, the salesman. He has been travelling around the world trying hard to sell our citizenship. I am beginning to wonder, is he being as successful as he would like to be? Has he reached his sales targets? Is he selling as many passports as he needs to defy market economics and keep throwing money at voters as though there's no tomorrow?

Who knows? We know nothing about how many passports have been sold or how many "talented" persons have become new Maltese citizens. We know that Muscat is still pursuing his sales pitch around the globe. Would he still be making such a huge effort to sell had his plan worked out? Why would he go to Singapore for another sales event had he been successful?

Muscat is definitely assertive and optimistic. He is selling a very good product. For goodness sake, our country is an extremely good product to sell. By deduction, therefore, Muscat has one key element missing: he is not trustworthy.

He made one huge promise to the nation and he did not keep it. That does not make him trustworthy. If he cannot deliver a power station within two years of going to power (as promised), then he is not a man of his word and he cannot be trusted.

International investors see through this. Multi-millionaires spot an untrustworthy conman in a split second. They may attend the parties and conferences. They may pass compliments and be polite. But they simply won't close the deal. It's just not in their interest. Can they trust golden assurances from someone who could be so glib with his own voters? Would they risk investing in a country that just might slap them with a huge tax bill down the road, after they've invested, in order to fill a huge deficit hole?

There's one simple way to find out if I'm mistaken. I challenge Joseph Muscat to publish the names and numbers of all those who invested in his scheme.

Why hide talented investors when you should be proud of them? After all, sales bring sales. If foreign investors know that a very talented honest investor has chosen to become a Maltese citizen, then others will surely follow. The scheme would sell itself. Then Muscat could start acting more like a Prime Minister rather than Willy Loman from the Arthur Miller play.

Distractions

Have you noticed what happens in the media when Muscat finds himself in a tight spot? One of two things. Either a 'scandal' from the past administration surfaces - a smear against a member of the Opposition. Or else we have the parading of a new initiative, possibly praiseworthy in itself, but with rather fishy timing.

After the hot debate about the power station we had all sort of stories surfacing in different newspapers. There are issues which have been on the back burner for months, waiting for the right opportunity to take centre stage.

Muscat and his close circle have a way with media. They know that exclusivity makes journalists and their newspaper editors lose their focus on the bigger picture so that they can get the exclusive on a detail. It has become the established pattern and I refuse to play fiddle to Muscat's media plan.

Take the new Gender Identity Bill. This was announced by Minister Helena Dalli back in March 2014. I am informed that the draft presented on Wednesday was ready over a month ago. So why did it wait? Civil rights are important. Why should they be put on hold?

Minister Dalli is an essential pawn in the Prime Minister's media plan. When he needs a big distraction he uses her and civil liberties to distract attention from the core problems he is facing.

It is worth noting that when Minister Dalli presented the bill on Wednesday there was no transgender person on the top table. This does not mean that the transgender persons within our society are not interested in this issue. They were invited to attend but refused to be used.

A gentle reminder to our Prime Minister: You did not keep your promise and we haven't forgotten. You said you are a man of your word and would have assumed political responsibility (which means you should resign). We haven't forgotten. If we cannot trust you, don't expect to reach your sales targets.

Claudette Buttigieg MP - [email protected], twitter: @ButClaudette