The Italians have this habit - they tend to split in support of two rivals.

It was Guelphs and Ghibellines in the 13th Century, Don Camillo and Peppone in the 1950s, Mazzola and Rivera in the 1970s…

The Italians have now split between two girls, and one of them is a Maltese – Carmen, whose family comes from over the water at Marzamemi in Sicily and Emma (Muscat) who hails from Malta.

These two are among a group of young people who have endured great sacrifices to compete in a variety show run by Maria de Filippi, based on telephone voting by the Italian public. And elimination after elimination, these two girls have risen to the top and are now fighting for the ultimate prize.

This contest, Amici, has enthused the Maltese, who follow Emma’s tribulations on a daily basis. They support Emma wholeheartedly not just because she is a fellow Maltese but also because she is a lovely girl who sings beautifully.

The rules of the game are somewhat difficult to follow and maybe for this reason many Maltese have concluded that Emma’s rival, Carmen, will ultimately win the contest. Maybe this will not happen – we shall see in the final episode in the coming days.

But meanwhile, the Maltese public has taken Emma to its heart – it follows her every appearance, rejoices when the public rewards her, and on Sunday cried when Emma’s mother made a surprise appearance and Emma, recognizing her ran screaming ‘Mummy’ straight into her arms.

It has been hard going for this teenager – she left university to take up the Amici challenge, has lived a reclusive life without her family and even her mobile phone for up to three months, in an alien land, forced to speak a language that is not her own (though she has improved) and singing all the time. (She also plays the piano beautifully – the only contestant to do so).

We are used to Maltese competing abroad, including and especially the Eurovision. These Maltese representatives are surrounded by minders and professionals – but then they fly out with the best of intentions … and many times come back without success. But here is a girl who doggedly risked and succeeded beyond all predictions. Even if the final prize eludes her, she is already a success story.

Go, Emma, go.