Those who thought we would be having a quiet, apolitical Christmas are wrong.

Well, it was already difficult to imagine us munching turkey and mince pies without saying a word about the impending election. Now that we have had this development coming from the Labour end last Thursday, any chance that, even publicly, we could have a few days without politics has been thrown out the window.

The resignation of Anglu Farrugia from the post of deputy leader of the Labour Party came out of the blue for many, but it had long been felt that, in spite of all the comfort that appeared on the surface, something sinister was happening underneath.

That Joseph Muscat repeatedly spoke about a “united team” now, with hindsight, seems to have been a way to defend what was about to happen.

That Anglu Farrugia himself, in his letter of resignation, said that he no longer had confidence in his leader is also a clear indication that something had been brewing for quite a while. Confidence is not lost overnight.

The reason given for the resignation is also not easily accepted. That Dr Farrugia was forced to resign because, in the words of Dr Muscat, he should not have commented the way he did about a magistrate is not the real motive.

After all, Dr Muscat himself made an even stronger statement about the judiciary in general – not just one magistrate – when he said that a Labour Party in government would refund licences of imported cars, irrespective of the decision taken by the courts of law. This declaration was even more serious than the words of Dr Farrugia last Sunday.

The Mosta lawyer’s dismal performance on Xarabank yesterday week was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was not the first poor showing by the PL deputy leader. Everyone remembers his “on the record” fiasco on Bondiplus some months back. With the Nationalist Party unleashing Simon Busuttil as the new face, the new deputy leader, just a few weeks before the date of the election was announced, Labour could see that the steady advantage it had had during the whole legislature was being eroded quickly.

There was only one way in which they could reply – like with like – and so Dr Farrugia became the sacrificial lamb for Labour to have its own new deputy leader. While, in the PN camp, Dr Tonio Borg was given a lucrative post that suddenly became available with the resignation of John Dalli as Malta’s European Commissioner, Labour had to invent something to try to recover.

However, their knee-jerk reaction could backfire, because Dr Farrugia’s forced resignation – and his decision not to contest the next general election – is evidence that while the PL spent so much time attacking the Nationalist Party regarding the dissidence shown by rebel backbenchers, they had trouble in their own backyard too and this exploded in their face at a time when they should be concentrating on more important issues.

The two parties have both changed their second in command, which seems to be an equal move at face value, but the underlying factors of the two events are completely different. What is also different is that whereas in the PN the trouble was coming from the lower ranks because of ambition, for Labour the trouble came at the top.

Previous criticism made by the Labour Party earlier this year is coming back to haunt it. In February, it made fun of the fact that Lawrence Gonzi had chosen to request his party to confirm him as leader in the wake of the political developments of the time. They had ridiculed the fact that he was the sole contender and was racing on his own.

Now Labour is going through the same experience, as it will have only one candidate – and therefore no race at all – for the post of second in command. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

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Each time I visit London I am amazed by the sheer number of people milling about, seemingly coming out of nowhere to fill up the streets. The thousands emerging from the underground transport system to add to the thousands already above ground is a sight that never ceases to make me wonder how London could function without such a service.

Imagine if they had someone like Astrid when they were about to dig the first tunnel, and the project was shelved because of some teeny-weeny insect that lived under the city. London would not have survived.

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I am so pleased that young Leah is back home after undergoing a serious operation in the United States. It is always so sad when a child has to go through such a trauma.

But the hype made by sections of the media and the attention she was publicly given made me recall the fuss that was made about Annabelle Vassallo a few years back. It was as if only she had a terminal disease. Likewise, some sections of the media have reacted as if only Leah had a tumour, when this is definitely not the case. Leah is only one of many.

There are many children who are suffering from cancer in our hospitals, and they deserve attention, care and love as well. They, also, were given one life that is slowly being taken away from them at such a tender age. Let us think about them too.

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The shooting spree in the United States that killed so many children last week came as a shock, and yet it was not the first time that such a tragedy has occurred.

So many lives have been ended in this way. But remember, some people grab a weapon and start shooting. Others make use of their tongue. This may not kill, but it can also shatter people’s lives.

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