Like dutiful schoolchildren, the ministers filed in and took their seats on a raised dais, according to rank. Then, like dutiful schoolchildren, they rose as a man when the headmaster, pardon, Prime Minister walked in.

Then they sat on very uncomfortable chairs, eyes glazed, for a presentation by Dr Gonzi, followed by an hour-long DVD on the government’s achievements in the past year, without yawning, and then for a question and answer session.

Both the presentation and the DVD covered well-known ground, but the DVD was such a cockeyed product that the OPM and DOI presented us with, and this is precisely what is wrong with the Gonzi government.

It was long, far too long, and put together by someone who has absolutely no idea how video presentations should be made. For over 50 minutes the same voice droned on and on, the script was bland and the pictures taken from stock, with graphics being few and far between. The DVD was subdivided according to the responsibilities of each minister, so it seems that each minister submitted a page or two of bland prose, which was read out in a monotonous voice. There was no action, no other voice intruded, and the result, in the noonday heat, was a recipe for drowsiness for both the Cabinet and the media. To top it all, the same script was pasted on to a booklet that was given to the media, which was handy to have to know how much longer the DVD was going to run.

The only touch of colour introduced into the proceedings was when Health Minister Louis Deguara had to leave and an OPM official quickly made the rest of the ministers in his row play musical chairs to cover up for the minister’s absence.

Predictably too, the most favoured question raised by the media had hardly to do with the presentation but the recent arson attacks on journalists.

Dr Gonzi, in his reply, was strong in his condemnation and in insisting that Malta must not forego its traditional virtues of hospitality and respect for human rights, and that the Police Commissioner must have all resources he needs to investigate what happened and bring the perpetrators to justice. But he fell short of replying as to why Daphne Caruana Galizia wasn’t given police protection when she was very obviously a target.

Nor could Dr Gonzi give any similar protection, it seems, considering I made my way unchallenged and unchecked into the Auberge de Castille, when previously one had to run the gauntlet of so many checks and counter-checks.

Nor did Dr Gonzi even think of replying that key potential targets are now being given protection because that does not seem to be the case.

The other issue favoured by the media regarded the extension of the development zones, with many journalists from the Labour side claiming the extension has been tailored to favour some landowners close to the Nationalist Party. Dr Gonzi strongly denied this was so saying the process is transparent and clear and anyone can check for himself which areas will be freed up, object to them and discuss them when the Bill is discussed in Parliament.

As to the main tenor of the whole 150-minute presentation, Dr Gonzi outlined what has been done and promised continuity on the much-trodden path his government has been treading these past years.