Not since Luis Suarez helped himself to a nip of Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup have we seen

such tantrums on pitch as we did with Jose’ Mourinho’s outburst at his medical staff, Eva Carneiro, in the match against Swansea.  Since then, Mourinho’s penchant to blame everyone but himself or his team, for disappointing results or poor performances has come under the spotlight.

Sports journalists have shown no mercy :  “The thing to remember with Jose Mourinho is that if his team doesn't win, it was someone else's fault. The brilliant Portuguese deserves his place in the hall of fame as one of the greatest managers of all time; diverting attention away from any under-performances with the sleight of hand and skill of a master magician - one of his more devious and entertaining traits. But how does he do this? Let us show you with 10 of Jose's very best and most common excuses for when his team doesn't win a game.”

These 10 excuses go on to include, amongst others: –

“The Doctor

A new season, a new scapegoat. Chelsea's weak performance in their surprise draw with Swansea last weekend was hidden beneath a screen of smoke created by Mourinho when he strongly criticised Eva Carneiro’s desire to attend to an injured player, as is one of the central duties in her role as doctor.

The media (and other unseen forces)

In January 2014, Mourinho was fined £25,000 for claiming in December that there was an orchestrated campaign aimed at destabilising Chelsea.

He also made claims of conspiracies against him in drawing up the fixtures list and that even the referees had a hidden agenda.

All of which sounds familiar when compared to our own Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat and the numerous deflections on the daily scandals erupting from his bench. 

We have had blame put upon the media for discouraging investors, as when they tried to do their job, at the press conference of the Huawei deal and other occasions when certain journalists were not invited to press conferences or foreign trips, which seems to indicate a persecution mania.

 

It becomes quite evident in the regular pattern of Blame the Opposition or blame the PN or blame Simon Busuttil or Tonio Fenech.  Are we expected to accept that the Opposition do not do their job because it causes inconvenience to Muscat?

Of course we have had other excuses like the one of the hare -  we rushed too much, he said, in reference to the Café Premier deal. 

Then there is Dr Edward Scicluna who seems to think that no-one is grasping the real intent and scope of the perfectly normal €360 million guaranteed loan to Electrogas and where it deviates from normal practice.

Even the cement at Mater Dei got the blame for patients in corridors.

The best excuse, maybe, was that revealing the contract with the bank and the government for Electrogas would cause economic turmoil.  If that is the case, then there is even more pressing need to table the documents for scrutiny and seek a referendum if need be.

Other diversions include shifting the focus of the Old Mint Street purchase onto Mr Gaffarena himself.  By making Gaffarena the subject of the scandal, with his donations and other affiliations, the spotlight is shifted away from Minister Falzon and the Prime Minister as the minister responsible for the Lands Department. 

This issue is not so much about the receiver as it is about the giver.  It is the government that facilitated and signed the deal and there the scandal lies.  Having a Gaffarena in the political landscape is as familiar as having a Kazin (party club).  The deal reached by the government, however, is not an ordinary one and casts a light on the real reasons behind it.

But I think that this government is now running out of excuses and just as we watched Mourinho meet his karma with the bloody nose of his player and Costa’s bandaged head in the game against Manchester City, we could see Eva Carneiro enjoying the irony of it all, as champions Chelsea went on to lose 3-0 and there was no one left to blame.

When the bench is quiet, the reason, more often than not, is that the elves are digging into possible material to use as deflection or excuse.  What about the one with the clock or maybe it could be the time when he was seen at a party… and so on and so forth.  Or maybe we can blame it on Sicily for a change?  After all, the interconnector is a PN creature so it can follow that its masters are to blame.

The Opposition has role to play and has elected members in Parliament to do the job.  Personal attacks on the shadow ministers, as has been shown to Jason Azzopardi and Claudette Buttigieg amongst others, are as puerile as they come and only illustrate the lack of real argument.

This government, like it or not, will have to answer for the lost road map, from the crowded hospital corridors to the cardiac inducing tanker in the bay of Marsaxlokk.  From the hidden sale of passports to the real reason for Zonqor land in the American University project, the many unfair promotions and mass scale nepotism, the electricity cuts and the scrappy public transport.  And for gambling on €360 million of our money.  What would you do if your partner put a hypothec on your house without informing you?  I don’t think that is even allowed by the bank, as it would require the signature of both partners.  But here the Prime Minister sees fit to gamble our homes and our earned income, as thoughwe have no say in the matter, in the manner of a plantation lord from the Caribbean.

Edward Scicluna has said in reply to journalists’ questions, that if the Security of Supply agreement fails, then government will assume the project entirely itself.  The Opposition will likely fall scapegoat toinstigating this self-fulfilling prophecy, should they bring in the EC to investigate the serious issues surrounding the project’s funding and purpose.  Maybe when all goes to ground, Minister Mizzi can then blame the PN again.

Such poor excuses cannot convince anyone anymore.  As the scandals come thick and fast and the mistakes multiply and get out of control, the government has an even greater duty to assume responsibility and inform the Opposition, the media and the public about each and every hand in their part of it.  I don’t think it should be allowed to wait until the next election for redemption.  This is not about whether PL or PN will be elected next time round.  It is about the integrity and accountability of this government and where it is taking the country by insisting on damning decisions, wherever they may lead.

The price the country will pay for the supposed reduction in electricity will yet see us strapped to that electric chair for the next 18 years and more.