It must have been the first time that a cook demanded to be given credit for putting the right ingredients in the pot. Before even starting the fire. Let alone waiting for the proof of the pudding.

Minister Austin Gatt’s belligerent speech at last Saturday’s signing of the public transport agreement with Arriva beggars belief, even in a country used, or over-used, to Dr Gatt’s verbal intemperance.

It was, indeed, a moment to celebrate. Getting there was not an easy slog, we grant that. Yes, it’s true many had long resigned themselves to seeing public transport deteriorate to the point where only people who absolutely could not do otherwise remained using it, and of course, tourists. It’s true that the nation, and the political parties, cowered in awe of the clout that the bus drivers had and their wrongful proprietor attitude to their old, museum pieces called buses. It is also true that far too many approaches by some of Dr Gatt’s predecessors now seem, with hindsight, timid if not downright appeasing.

Even more, it is to Dr Gatt’s credit that he and the government he serves had the clarity of vision to see that there can be no real solution to the problems caused to our health by over-clogged roads, record use of private cars with no passengers, traffic-clogged streets and village cores, to say nothing of Valletta, unless car use is curbed and people made to shift to a reformed public transport.

So we are completely changing the emphasis here: What is being done is to plan to reduce the over-dependence on the personal car and to force people to accept longer times for travel from Point A to Point B through a reformed, environment-friendly, comfortable and safe public transport, manned not by the maniacs we have today but in a civil and responsible manner.

At the beginning of this article, we compared the public transport reform to cooking and said that so far, the ingredients have only been put in the pot. Actually, it’s not even that. We have been led to misplace the entire sequence and order of priorities. We have focused on the public transport reform when even more important is to focus on the reform of all transport, all means of transport. We have been led to think that the contract regarding who mans and runs the bus service was the be-all and end-all of the reform, when this is an essential, fundamental, pre-requisite, but just that.

So, yes, Dr Gatt was fully entitled to his hour of glory on Saturday, to say “You all told us it was impossible to do, but here we are doing it”. But nowhere was he justified to the extraordinary belligerence of his words, especially against the media, but actually against any and all who at any point expressed some rather timid doubts.

First of all, the reform is far from over. Actually, it has only just started. From now till 3 July when the new public transport system gets going, much remains to be done. Doubtlessly, there will be hiccups, things that need to be changed. Doubtlessly, there will also be mistakes – Dr Gatt has only to see the mess that another of his ‘inventions’ (ARMS Ltd), suffered at birth to realise that not all changes come right on the very first day. Now if the entire system is not going to collapse under the sheer weight of public anger and criticism, Dr Gatt needs the media. If he cannot take criticism and heat, he has no business to be in the kitchen.

Even more so, the need to change the habits of a lifetime need time, lots of explanations, lots of patience and consultations rather than impositions. Again, for any reform to succeed, it needs persuasive approaches and clear presentation of goals and reasons. On the contrary, we now have seen a gleaming new bus, straight out of factory, with a Euro 5 certificate, but still await all that must be done in the coming seven months to get everything right on Day 1.

And not even then, we warn, not even on 3 July 2011, will Dr Gatt be allowed to brag as he did last Saturday.