Whether you are red or blue, or even part of a growing mass of neutrals on these islands, you can't help feeling perplexed by Simon Busuttil's antics. His latest missive about not wanting to be transparent as regards his party's present-day finances smacks of an utter disregard for political consistency as his credibility takes yet another plunge. More so since, rightly, he is so frequently vociferous on the need for the government and government ministers to be transparent on everything.
The Opposition leader continues to wind miles of transparent tape around his body and then still expects to be seen as untied and free to lodge grenades at random. In less than two years, he has been able to disable his own attributes by regularly going off on tangents that baffle both those around him and the rest of us. A proper and realistic definition of the man continues to escape many people given his odd political posturing and irritable way of approaching issues that should, after all, no longer be on the nation's daily agenda.
Why? Because they were solved when voters in their vast majority decided to show that they had had enough of how things were being handled up to March 2013, particularly the questions of energy generation, corruption in that and other sectors, and the economy, all of which took place when he was already and evidently "the chosen one" to take over. For him to insist on justifying the actions and decisions of his predecessor's government on those issues is an affront to political good sense as practised in this day and age.
Rather than distancing himself from all that, Busuttil has chosen to stay on the defensive by attacking every new venture by the present government, a negative tactic that no longer works. From the switch to gas-generated electricity and the citizenship investment scheme to the creation of jobs and economic growth, it has been, for him, a voyage of obvious despair. For every score he purports to have made, he suffered a dozen. Is it any wonder that opinion polls continue to show him cast adrift from public perception of all that has been achieved so far by a Labour government?
Of course, it comes as a shock to him that Joseph Muscat's administration is ever ready and willing to admit its mistakes by quickly seeking to make amends. Simon Busuttil and his party are not used to this. Right up to the final minute of the Gonzi government prior to the last general election, Busuttil himself and other exponents persisted in their presentation of it as a flawless, perfect working machine that had all the answers and no one else was entitled to question it or even contemplate alternatives. The truth as everyone knew was everything but that.
In opposition, Busuttil is helplessly caught in this rather sticky situation. The transparent tape he has tied himself up with is providing slapstick amusement to both friend and foe. There may even be those around who willingly provide him with the rolls of tape. They are those who need him to keeping them protected from the evil spirits of the past and those who have their own ambitions in a party that still needs to reassess itself by, first and foremost, accepting those 21st century realities that parties and politicians everywhere have already endorsed and acknowledged.
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A new generation of European leaders
Alexis Tsipras' electoral victory in Greece last weekend was not just a warning salvo for Europe, but also an indication that electorates everywhere are warming up to the new generation of European leaders.
The trend, from our own Joseph Muscat and Italy's Matteo Renzi and now to the open-shirted Tsipras, is for politicians to be straightforward with the people and positive as they disengage themselves from deep-rooted, obsolete customs and traditions. It is a refreshingly determined generation of young leaders who do not pretend to have the magic wand, but are willing to work hard to stimulate investment and introduce innovation, and to call a spade a spade rather that making lovely pinafores to hide it in. They are neither comrades in arms nor companions in distress, but they apply common, new, down-to-earth tactics to help solve old problems.
Europe has every reason to feel elated that people everywhere are willing to take these new, enterprising leaders seriously. The austerity blitz of the past few years has wreaked havoc on millions of working families who now see they can be heard and consulted. They are not being promised heaven on earth, but the possibility of finding work, keeping their jobs and improving the quality of life for their loved ones.
It is not surprising, therefore, that most of the new generation of European leaders come from the Left, not necessarily the old Left. They make symbolic gestures that complement the psyche of most voters today who insist on fairness, on transparency and on positive attitudes. The fact that Tsipras, for example, chose to make a civil affirmation rather than take a religious oath on assuming his premiership speaks volumes. "I want to be Prime Minister of all Greeks," he quickly explained.
It instantly reminds one of the brave and tough propositions that both Renzi and Muscat have done so far since they have been in power. Civil union and spring hunting in Malta, the jobs act and constitutional reforms in Italy come readily to mind. They do not anticipate joyrides, but they are ready to take on the waves on their way to eventual achievement.
The fact that those obnoxious elements such as UKIP in Britain, Lega Nord in Italy and the far-right in Greece seem so willing to jump on their bandwagon is a worrying factor, but not something the new leaders of Europe are unable to contain, at least at this moment in time.
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Lies about allies
Western governments and their henchmen in influential world bodies and international organisations, led by an ever grateful Washington, wasted no time in heaping praise on King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who passed away last week. Some of the comments leave you gobsmacked, to say the least.
The UK's increasingly erratic David Cameron, for example, said the old monarch had "strengthened understanding between faiths" when the whole world knows he had only recently equated atheists with terrorists, let alone the discriminated Christian and Shia citizens in his desert, oil-rich kingdom.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF's multi-millionaire who, with Europe's bankers and right-wing politicians, inflicted untold suffering on millions of southern European families, came out with an even more confounding remark. She called the late king "a strong advocate of women", regardless of the fact that women in Saudi Arabia are not even allowed to drive a car. They are also stoned, lashed in public and executed after they are unjustly convicted and unjustly treated in court over claims of infidelity, sedition, sorcery - yes, sorcery - drug-smuggling and murder in self-defence.
Abdullah was also described by some Western leaders as "a skilful modernizer" who "led his country into the future". What modernization? What future? In Saudi Arabia there are no elections, no parties, no Parliament and no dissent. The real ones, of course, because the fake ones are aplenty.
As for the future, there should be no doubt that in the name of Saudi justice, punishments from the chopping of hands and feet for theft, lashes for adultery and other so-called social misdemeanours to market-day beheadings, will continue. Four people have already been executed less than a week since 79-year-old King Salman assumed power.
IS are, no doubt, terrorists who do all those horrific things, but the Saudi royals are allies, have oil, and so entitled to do those same horrific things.
Incidentally, Saudi Arabia's national airline carrier is planning to introduce gender segregation on board its flights following complaints from passengers who refused to have males seated next to their wives. Saudia will order its staff to keep men and women separated on board, unless they are close relatives. An exciting future, there.