So the Prime Minister would like to make us all believe that his way of doing politics is "new." Go tell it now to the families of all those Labour-leaning police inspectors who have just been unjustifiably denied of what would have been a well-earned place among the superintendents of the Malta Police Force. During the last 24 hours I have been inundated with calls from the deeply hurt wives and children of those demoralised police officers who, at the expense of the exigencies of service within the corps, have once again been sacrificed on the altar of political convenience.

As my eyes rolled down the list of names blessed with government-sponsored indulgencies I could hardly believe that the home affairs minister could be so cold and calculating. Today, he would say that he had no finger in the pie because it is the public service commission that filters applications. Ha, Ha, Ha!

I remember a couple of years ago he had first promoted to the rank of assistant police commissioner a former director of the Corradino Correctional Facility. You will not have already forgotten the spate of great escapes from the CCF as the worst criminals and murderers in the prisons' history ran off with relative ease. He then went on to reward a police inspector for his crass incompetence - universally acknowledged by his own companions in the corps - by promoting him to the rank of superintendent in lieu of more experienced and capable police officers. As far as Tonio Borg is concerned they are both staunch nationalist supporters and so had the right credentials to make it.

I sometimes wonder how the Police Commissioner can take all this bull without batting an eyelid. Now I happen to know Mr Rizzo very well and I have the net impression that he likes not being bullied about by his political masters with matters of purely administrative concern. Although many in the police corps are fully aware of the fact that there is always a political dressing to a promotion exercise they are also very suspicious of their superiors. Very unfortunately as head of the police force, the police commissioner finds himself in a very vulnerable situation. I can say that, rightly or wrongly, after last weekend Mr Rizzo is the next most unpopular person after the deputy prime minister in the Malta Police Corps.

My heart went out to the families of those who have been denied, time and time again, of their right to be where they should have already been years ago. Incredible but true, some of those police officers who have been sidelined were already inspectors before the new superintendents had even joined the police force years ago. One particular police inspector has not been allowed to make it to the rank of superintendent for 20 years now. There are a couple of superintendents who haven't been in the police corps for half the time! Unless you are without a conscience you will understand the grief of those police inspectors who have been beaten to the post by the very same subordinates they trained and groomed to become sergeants and inspectors.

Dr Gonzi's "new way of doing politics" is dictated by the maxim "right is might." Nobody believes Dr Gonzi's pledge anymore. Actually he seems to be worse than his predecessor. With tourism on its knees he keeps hanging on to his tourism minister despite calls for his resignation by concerned quarters in the industry. He defends with vigour the destruction of the environment by pushing through Parliament a cabinet-sponsored land rationalisation exercise. He expresses disdain for the Opposition for daring to condemn his IT minister's credo that government can do what it pleases with a comfortable five seat majority (obtained I must say with electoral gerrymandering prior to 1996.) He rewards the "former" MTA chairman with a very generous pay for resigning from his post, thus setting a precedent. And he is the Prime Minister of Malta's most politically charged police corps ever.

Dr Tonio Borg must be very pleased with the PSC's judicious appointments. He now has enough blue-eyed babies in the rank of superintendent to make his choices when he comes to replace the aging Assistant Commissioners. Tonio, We know what your strategy is.

Dr Gavin Gulia LL.D., M.P.

(Dr Gulia is Opposition Main Spokesman on Home Affairs)