It is truly incredible for a government that has pledged to make Malta the envy of Europe, that it is going to extraordinary lengths to humiliate the country almost every opportunity it gets.

From plying passports to moving heaven on Earth to protect politicians involved in shady practices to European Parliament rule of law delegations being so concerned about the situation in sunny Malta that they are planning a return visit, something is clearly wrong with the Joseph Muscat formula for success.

But at least Malta has its culture, its enticing traditions, its artistic talent and arguably one of the most beautiful capital cities in Europe.  At least, some might say, we have these saving graces that no amount of government-induced poor public relations could deny us of.

That is, until the advent Valletta 2018.  This was meant to have been one of Valletta's finest hours, a year in which Malta would showcase its jewel of a city to Europe and the world, where Maltese art and artists would be propelled onto a world stage and where the foundations would be laid for the city to continue to bask in this artistic glow for many a year to come after 2018.

It had all started out so promising but shortly after Valletta assumed the mantle things started going downhill, fast.  There are many fine people working at the V18 project, people who have poured their hearts and souls into showcasing the city built by gentlemen for gentlemen.

But the sad fact of the matter is that those people and the V18 project as a whole is being led by anything but a gentleman, a person who, judging by his behaviour, would not know 'culture' if jumped up from a Valletta pavement and slapped him in the face.

And just how many slaps in the face can the grand Valletta 2018 project be given before someone simply fires its chairman, Jason Micallef?

Micallef has shown little understanding of what culture and arts are, and his abrasive, heavily partisan commentary on the death of a person who may have been many things to Micallef but who was, at the end of the day, a gifted writer have shocked people far and wide, much farther and wider than the shores of this country.

That is because Malta is one of Europe's two capitals of culture, and people removed from this heavily polarised country of ours are having trouble understanding how the lines between arts and culture and politics could have become blurred beyond all recognition.

Micallef's comments have been well-documented and they do not deserve repeating yet again here.

But something is clearly wrong here when people such as Salman Rushdie and Neil Gaiman to have taken such exception to Micallef's continued outrageous comments, for scores more authors from PEN International to have railed against Micallef's dismal attitude, for dozens of European parliamentarians having called for his on account of his vitriolic statements, and for close to 100 Maltese artists to have called for his sacking.

The more time that passes, the more one is inclined to believe that the only kind of culture Micallef is cut out to manage is that from which yoghurt is made.