I'm writing this less than 24 hours after Minister Manuel Mallia's driver was involved in what looks like (at least for now) a messed-up squabble full of impulsive reactions on the part of probably all the parties involved. But, of course, when one is pointing a loaded gun, the balance of power is heavily skewed and squabbles stop being 'just' squabbles.
Things might have cleared by today, but apart from not having the luxury of waiting for the story to unravel, the chances are that, with time, it will only become more complicated and infested with even more lies and half-truths.
From where I stand right now, this is how I see it:
1. The Minister was nowhere near the scene of the alleged crime. There's no two ways about this, just as there's no two ways about the fact that he could not have avoided it from happening.
2. Could he have predicted that his newly-appointed driver was tightly strung? Maybe - but he's not a psychologist and if it is legal and permissible for a police officer to be seconded as a Minister's driver, then I don't see what the Minister has done wrong by hiring said driver.
3. And if it is also legal and permissible for an off-duty police officer to carry a weapon whilst driving a Minister around (or, as in this case, while visiting his mother in Gzira) then, again, I see no wrongdoing on the part of the Minister.
4. Granted, the law might need some changing and major tweaking to prevent weapons being carried around so freely, but if it is currently legal and permissible by law, again I see nothing wrong in the fact that the Minister chose to have his driver carry a weapon. Let's face it: he is not exactly the most beloved person on the island.
5. What is definitely not OK, however, is for a police officer, who is duty-bound to serve and protect, to act rashly and impulsively and to put the safety of an individual - and the public - at risk. It is even less OK to do so when the reason is as minor as 'catching' someone who hit a car, even a Minister's car.
6. The usual suspects could not have asked for a better excuse to (yet again), throw mud at their favourite Minister and, of course, at the Government en masse. But I honestly didn't think Simon Busuttil would go so far as to request the PM to remove Mallia so soon after the incident, when things couldn't possibly have been anywhere near clear. I'm also disappointed that Alternattiva Demokratika joined in with the same request, just as quickly. To my mind, they were just as impulsive and rash as the government's communication office.
7. Of course we don't live in the Wild West (Busuttil's words, not mine), but if politicians had to resign (or be removed) for all the wrongdoings that the people who report to them get up to, and if they had to resign (or be removed) less than 24 hours after such incidents, we'd have no Parliament to speak of. We'd have no politicians to represent us and, as much as I like to fantasise about a world without politicians, I don't think it would be such a great idea in the end.
8. A couple of weeks ago I wrote that - in my heart of hearts and on a completely personal level - I am convinced that Fr Fenech, the priest who has been arraigned for sexual abuse, is guilty. But even though the evidence points at textbook guilt, seconds after my post was published I was practically inundated with messages defending the priest, or rather defending the presumption of innocence. Where are those people now, I wonder? Why are they not defending Manuel Mallia? Or is the presumption of innocence reserved only for priests and 'likeable' people?
9. The DOI seems to be under severe pressure to do things that do not in any way fall within its remit - it seems to have lost its bearings somewhere between issuing press statements about Konrad Mizzi's marriage and now having to defend a police officer who is clearly only feeding it his own version of the facts. In my heart of hearts, I don't think this was a cover-up but a sheer incompetent and rushed communication. But, then again, I could be wrong.
10. If it turns out that the driver was, in fact, out of line when he fired shots at that car, and if Manuel Mallia keeps some form of link with him or defends him in any way, then that would be a completely different story; but to date, it is still unclear what happened in the first place and, just like the DOI, I believe that Manuel Mallia was fed the driver's version of the facts. Since then, he has publically apologised for what turned out to be a lie in that version of the story, but if it turns out that Mallia was somehow involved in a cover-up, I'll be the one to throw the first stone.
Not a week goes by without Mallia hitting the headlines because of something that his people have done, or are suspected of having done. Whichever way this unfolds, there is only one reason why he should leave his post and that is plain old goodwill. He needs to move aside in order to ensure that the investigation is carried out without pressure from his Ministry and for the public to see it as such. He should use his time off to get himself blessed or uncursed, because a black cloud of sorts has been following him for far too long.