‘Serene’ is how the Prime Minister describes his state of mind of late, but the body language and the events sweeping across the country, the statement tells another story altogether. 

The hysterical reactions of government acolytes and pundits, who have gone to extraordinary lengths to discredit a woman who blew the whistle on the financial machinations underway at Pilatus Bank, which she divulged freely and voluntarily to the ongoing magisterial inquiry, belie this ‘serene’ disposition being so falsely projected.

The general sentiment reigning over the populace, over the Prime Minister’s supporters and opponents alike, a feeling that is virtually palatable anywhere you go, also belies the fact that no leader of a country can possibly be of a serene mind when those he is leading are in such a tumultuous state.

The allegations that have captured the national attention over the last year and over the last 10 days in particular, are no ordinary allegations.

The Prime Minister is facing very serious charges of being personally linked to corruption and money laundering. Now whether those allegations are true or not is irrelevant in this context. Either which way, no Prime Minister can be in any sort of serene state of mind under such circumstances.

At the very least, one would think that he would say something to the effect that ‘I am concerned about these preposterous lies being told in my regard. I am worried that the country will suffer from the state of affairs it has found itself in. I am troubled that all the hard work we have put into the economy over the last years is being placed in jeopardy.’

But at a stage in which many of the country’s institutions are suffering a credibility crisis – its investigative authorities and, not least, the police force, the Prime Minister has apparently remained serene. This simply cannot be the truth of the matter, whether the accusations, allegations and insinuations hold any water or not.

And in the face of what is beyond any questionable or reasonable doubt, according to the Prime Minister all is apparently serene and the government will continue to work ‘with serenity’.

This attitude simply beggars belief.

Also giving lie to the serenity the Prime Minister and the government at large appear to be enjoying is not only yesterday’s shock resignation of government whip Godfrey Farrugia, nor his harsh words accompanying that resignation – what shows that not all is serene are the underlying messages in Dr Farrugia’s public open letter to the Prime Minister.

As the government whip, Dr Farrugia held an extremely important position and as such he was privy to much of what has been going on behind the scenes within the Labour Party and its parliamentary group – he has seen what has been transpiring from the inside and as such what can be inferred from his words, which were no doubt carefully chosen, speak volumes.

In his public resignation letter, he says he “smelt a hidden agenda of people who were close to you, persons in whom you have trust”, that the political games being played behind the scenes were a “Machiavellian game” comprised of “post-truth politics, hypocrisy and anti-truth”. Worse still, he says, “Wrongful behaviour that was not curbed, left repercussions that put us with our backs against the wall. We lost our moral fibre.”

Given all that has been going on in public view coupled with what has been going on behind the scenes, serenity, it appears, is the misnomer of the year.