With three huge cruise liners in Grand Harbour last Friday, hundreds, or rather thousands, of passengers came ashore to see what Malta had to offer in the way of tourist attractions.

But across the road, just as soon as they were out of the Cruise Liner Terminal, they found a jumble of karozzini, chaotically spread around, two or three abreast, with horses all day long in the sun and the karozzini owners haggling and harassing the tourists foolhardy enough to try and make it on foot.

It seemed as if all karozzini owners decided to descend on the Cruise Liner Terminal.

Worse still, an interesting interlude in Parliament on Wednesday evening made it clear that neither the government nor the Opposition have any intention of at least limiting the number of karozzini owners. Mario Galea, Joe Debono Grech and Minister Jesmond Mugliett all agreed that there must be no monopoly in this sector and that any man, if accompanied by his horse, would be given a karozzin licence.